Charlotte Bennett drops lawsuit against Andrew Cuomo in harassment case

ALBANY — The aide who accused former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of sexual harassment in 2020 dropped her federal lawsuit Monday, according to a statement by the woman’s attorney.

Charlotte Bennett dropped her case against Cuomo and his then-top aides, Melissa DeRosa and Jill DesRosiers, but will continue to sue the state government over the alleged harassment, according to Bennett’s attorney, Debra S. Katz.

Bennett had accused DeRosa and DesRosiers of failing to take appropriate action once Bennett reported she had been sexually harassed. Both DeRosa and DesRosiers denied handling the complaint inappropriately.

Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said the decision is "a complete capitulation."

"After falsely smearing Governor Cuomo for years, Ms. Bennett suddenly withdrew her federal lawsuit on the eve of her deposition to avoid having to admit under oath that her allegations were false and her claims had no merit," he said Monday.

Bennett filed the lawsuit in September 2022. She accused Cuomo of repeatedly posing personal questions about her life and sexual relationships as the divorced governor said he was "lonely" in Albany and sought a girlfriend. She was 25 years old at the time and working in the executive chamber.

Bennett’s attorney said in the lawsuit that Cuomo "sexualized comments about her appearance, assigned her humiliating and demeaning tasks, and beginning in early June 2020, subjected her to invasive and unwanted questions about her personal life, romantic and sexual relationships, and history as a survivor of sexual assault."

Bennett’s public accusation in 2021 was among several from women who said they were sexually harassed by Cuomo, accusations that led to his resignation in August of that year as he faced impeachment by the State Legislature.

Cuomo has denied he sexually harassed anyone.

Bennett said part of her motivation in dropping her case was intimidation by Cuomo as he sought to publicly defend himself against accusations.

Cuomo "can no longer use this lawsuit to harass me and my family," Bennett said in a statement provided by her attorney. She said he used the court system to subpoena details of her life to build a case in his defense that made her life "a living nightmare."

Azzopardi denied Cuomo was trying to intimidate Bennett. He said the inquiries are a normal element of discovery in a lawsuit. 

Cuomo has aggressively defended himself against accusations of sexual harassment in recent months. That included obtaining data from the attorney general’s investigation that hadn’t previously be made public.

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.