Lawsuit: Waiter fired over Roethlisberger complaint

A former restaurant worker at Lake Tahoe's Harrah's resort claims that he was fired from his assistant manager job because of a complaint filed by football star Ben Roethlisberger.

Alvaro Brito, who had worked at the restaurant for 12 years, said he was fired in July 2008 after he requested to see identification from a young woman who ordered a drink at the quarterback's table, the Associated Press reports. The lawsuit names the Cabo Wabo Cantina and president of Harrah's Lake Tahoe, John Koster, as defendants.

The suit claims that Koster, who was a fan and friend of Roethlisberger made known to employees that they should go out of their way to please the star.

Though Roethlisberger is not named as a defendant, the new lawsuit may influence a court decision of a complaint filed earlier this year in which a woman claimed she was sexually assaulted by the resort's famed guest.

The woman claimed in a recent deposition, "I was afraid to go to the police as I knew what Koster had done to the manager at Cabo Wabo, that Koster would protect Ben Roethlisberger and the company rather than supporting a police investigation."

The quarterback has denied the woman's allegations and continues to play this NFL season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.