NEW YORK (Reuters) - After an online sexting scandal brought down Congressman Anthony Weiner, the last thing a politician would even consider is sending a nude self-portrait over the Internet. Apparently not.
Cumberland County freeholder Louis Magazzu, 53, stepped down on Tuesday after nude photos he sent to a woman with whom he had a long online relationship were posted on the website of conservative blogger Carl Johnson, said Magazzu's lawyer Rocco Cipparone.
"Unfortunately, in my personal life, I did not always demonstrate the wisdom and balance that I expected from myself, and that the people of Cumberland County deserve and have every right to expect," Magazzu said in a statement.
Magazzu, a Democrat, hired Cipparone to pursue legal action against Johnson, a Republican. He said the images were meant to be seen only by the woman and he was set up.
"A woman who I have never met personally, but have corresponded with on the Internet for several years, has recently shared some photographs which she requested and that were intended only for her eyes," Magazzu said in the statement.
"I did not know that she was working with an avowed political enemy to distribute these pictures ... I have retained counsel to determine what laws may have been broken by the unauthorized distribution of those pictures. No government services or equipment were used by me when taking the pictures or transmitting them to the woman in question."
The photos appear to show Magazzu standing naked in front of a mirror.
Cipparone said Magazzu, who has been separated from his wife for about two years, sent the photos earlier this year.
"This is not another Anthony Weiner case," said Cipparone, calling the distribution of Magazzu's nude images "an invasion of privacy both civilly and criminally."
New York Congressman Weiner resigned in June after a highly publicized scandal in which he was caught sending lewd photos of himself to women over the Internet.
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