Former Cuomo Aide Settles Sexual Harassment Claim for $450,000
An aide who worked in former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive office has agreed to a $450,000 settlement in her lawsuit over claims that New York State officials had not done enough to prevent Mr. Cuomo's alleged sexual harassment against her, according to the settlement agreement obtained by The New York Times.
The agreement ends a prolonged and bitter legal battle between the former aide, Charlotte Bennett, 29, and Mr. Cuomo, 67, over allegations made in 2021 that he inquired about her sex life, questioning whether she had monogamous relationships and if she liked older men.
'This settlement was mutually agreed upon by the parties and allows the State to minimize further cost to the taxpayers,' said Avi Small, a spokesman for Gov. Kathy Hochul, who replaced Mr. Cuomo when he resigned in August 2021.
Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat who is now the leading contender in the New York City mayoral race, has long denied Ms. Bennett's assertions. He has gone to great lengths to dispute her allegations, as well as those of two other women who have sued him for sexual misconduct.
His legal team has sought to pick apart their claims, subpoenaing their medical records among other things, and, in the case of Ms. Bennett, stating last year that he intended to sue her for defamation.
Since the alleged misconduct occurred when he was in office, Mr. Cuomo's legal defense, which has costs tens of millions of dollars, has been largely subsidized by the state. His opponents in the mayoral race have tried to cast focus on this expense, arguing it was a misuse of taxpayer funds.
Mr. Cuomo's lawyers have also accused Ms. Bennett in court documents of trying to turn public sentiment against him by repeatedly noting how much his legal defense cost the public.
Ms. Bennett had also sued Mr. Cuomo in federal court in 2022, but dropped that lawsuit him against him in December, shortly before she was slated to be deposed. Shortly after her first public airing of the accusations, Mr. Cuomo apologized and acknowledged that he may have said things that were 'misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation.'
But by late last year, when Ms. Bennett dropped the lawsuit, Mr. Cuomo portrayed her decision as vindication of his long-held belief that the allegations against him were trumped up and that he had done nothing wrong. It was why, his aides said, he had engaged in such a zealous defense.
Ms. Bennett said at the time that Mr. Cuomo 'can no longer use this lawsuit to harass me and my family.'
Under the terms of the settlement, Ms. Bennett will receive a $100,000 payout for lost pay and personal injury among other things. Her lawyers will receive about $350,000 in reimbursed fees and other legal costs. The agreement was first reported by Law 360.
Debra Katz, Ms. Bennett's lawyer, confirmed in a statement on Friday that her client had settled her lawsuit.
'Ms. Bennett's allegations were later supported by findings from the New York Attorney General's Office and the U.S. Department of Justice,' Ms. Katz said in the statement. 'Ms. Bennett is looking forward to moving on with her life.'
Mr. Cuomo has long argued that the reports by the attorney general's office and the Justice Department were politically motivated and filled with falsehoods.
'The attorney general's discredited 2021 report about Governor Cuomo was pure politics from beginning to end, all at taxpayer expense, and today's nuisance settlement proves it,' Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for the Cuomo campaign, said in a statement on Friday.
'If anyone ever questioned whether this situation was political from the start, today's taxpayer funded nuisance settlement is proof positive,' he added later. Mr. Azzopardi said the defamation case against Ms. Bennett would continue.
Mr. Cuomo is still being sued by two other women. Another former executive assistant, Brittany Commisso, sued the former governor, along with several of his top aides for sexual harassment, as did an unnamed state trooper who accused him of inappropriate touching. Mr. Cuomo has denied harassing either woman.
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