By Sharon Coolidge
Enquirer staff writer

Lawyers for the woman who filed a sexual-harassment lawsuit against Hamilton County Prosecutor Mike Allen want to talk to current and former prosecutors, a television reporter and people working on the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign.

The lawsuit filed by Hamilton County Assistant Prosecutor Rebecca Collins two weeks ago is in the preliminary stages, but lawyers are working to gather potential evidence.

A list of people Collins' attorneys want to depose - or question under oath - as part of the case appears in a letter dated Wednesday from one of Collins' attorneys, Sheila Smith, to Allen's attorney, Michael Hawkins and the Hamilton County commissioners' attorney, William Markovits.

In the federal lawsuit, Collins alleges Allen coerced her into a sexual affair, had sex with her during office hours and threatened to ruin her career if she stopped seeing him. She seeks unspecified monetary damages, lost pay and benefits. The lawsuit also names the county commissioners as defendants.

The letter, obtained by the Enquirer, does not say why Collins' attorneys want to talk to those listed. The letter has not been filed in court.

Among the people Collins' lawyers said they want to talk to:

• William Breyer, a former assistant Hamilton County prosecutor.

• Lois Gorrasi, a bailiff in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court who formerly worked as Allen's secretary.

• Jennifer Stamp, who formerly worked at the prosecutor's office, first as an intern, then as a part-time employee and then, for the first three months of this year, as an assistant Hamilton County prosecutor. She resigned in March and moved to Columbus.

• Mark Piepmeier, an assistant Hamilton County prosecutor who is a criminal trial attorney.

• Judy Lapp, an assistant Hamilton County prosecutor who works in the appellate division.

• Dr. Ken Senser, a therapist who has a private practice in Cincinnati.

• Tanya O'Rourke, a Channel 9 reporter.

• Jo Ann Davidson, Ohio Valley regional chairwoman for the Bush-Cheney campaign and former Ohio speaker of the House.

• Robert Paduchik, Ohio campaign manager for Bush-Cheney.

• Brent Sanders, Southwest Ohio field director for Bush-Cheney.

Hawkins declined to comment on why people may be on the list and their relevance to the case. He was upset the letter was made public, saying he has never seen correspondence between attorneys released to the media.

"I seriously question Miss Collins' intentions in such activity as sending letters between counsel to the media," Hawkins said. "People can judge their motives accordingly.

"It appears to be consistent with a pattern of unreasonable allegations and a story that defies common sense."

Allen, a 48-year-old married father of two, called his extramarital affair with Collins consensual. Hawkins said the 33-year-old woman's claims are "outrageous and false."

Smith, in releasing the letter, said she's working in the best interest of her client. She pointed out that Hawkins previously released information favorable to his client, such as revealing the nickname Collins used to sign correspondence to Allen.

Allen was formerly Southwest Ohio chairman for the Bush-Cheney campaign for re-election, but stepped down after the lawsuit was filed. Sanders declined to comment. Davidson and Paduchik could not be reached for comment.

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E-mail scoolidge@enquirer.com