Just hours before the July 4 holiday, the troubled bookstore chain terminated CEO Demos Parneros for cause, though the precise offense was not revealed publicly. In his complaint, Parneros charges that the company fired him baselessly after his relationship with chairman Len Riggio deteriorated – and let the public assume that Parneros was dismissed for sexual harassment. In response, B&N said that the suit is “nothing but an attempt to extort money from the Company by a CEO who was terminated for sexual harassment, bullying behavior and other violations of company policies.”