Eric Massa Accused of Trying to 'Snorkel' Navy Subordinates

(March 10) -- In the wake of his sudden resignation from the U.S. House of Representatives, former Democratic Rep. Eric Massa finds himself under increasing public scrutiny for sexual misconduct over the years.

While Massa himself has cited numerous reasons for giving up his career in politics -- from a cancer diagnosis to a White House plot to a failure to live up to ethical standards -- the former representative of New York's 29th district was hit with new accusations that he acted inappropriately with male subordinates.

Former Democratic Congressman Eric Massa is seen at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol March 17, 2009 in Washington, DC.

Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

Former Navy colleagues of recently resigned Democratic Congressman Eric Massa accused the ex-lawmaker of inappropriate acts toward male subordinates.

"In 1990, aboard the USS Jouett, I was awakened when a senior officer, Lt. Cmdr. Massa, seemed to be groping me. (I was a lieutenant at the time)," Stuart Borsch, a former Navy shipmate of Massa's, told The Atlantic's Joshua Green. "I believe he may have been drinking. I shouted at him and he left. I mentioned the incident to several other officers. I did not officially report it."

Another Navy colleague, Peter Clarke, told Green that he, too, witnessed Massa's harassment. Specifically, he recounted an incident in which Massa had climbed into bed with lower-ranking sailor, Tom Maxfield, who was asleep.

"When you're on a ship, you're almost exhausted 24-7. So a lot of times you sleep with your uniform on. Tom and Massa shared a stateroom together. Massa climbed up on the top of his bunk, which is hard to do -- you never crawl up on somebody else's bunk. He wakes up to Massa undoing his pants and trying to snorkel him."

As a result of Massa's resignation, the House ethics committee has closed its investigation. He was accused of groping and sexually harassing two male staffers, sources said.