A former state employee who accused Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment clinched a $450,000 settlement — with taxpayers set to foot the massive bill as the former governor makes a comeback bid for New York City mayor.
Charlotte Bennett, who served as an assistant to Cuomo when he was governor, officially ended a long-running lawsuit Friday against the Empire State.
She is slated to receive $100,000 personally with another $350,000 earmarked for her lawyers and legal costs — all of which will be shelled out by the state.
The settlement caps a bruising battle with Cuomo, including a separate federal lawsuit that Bennett later dropped in which her lawyer contended the ex-gov’s attorneys had aggressively sought her gynecological records.“Ms. Bennett is looking forward to moving on with her life,” Bennett’s attorney Debra Katz said in a statement Friday about the settlement.
The scandal-plagued Cuomo’s various bids to clear his name have been costly for New Yorkers.
As of March, taxpayers had shelled out nearly $60 million in legal costs to defend against various scandals that embroiled the Cuomo administration, according to a report by the state Comptroller’s Office.
The tab to defend Cuomo and the state each against Bennett’s claims ran upward of $9 million – and a total of $14.3 million was approved had she not settled, according to public records.
Bennett, now 29, was the second woman after former gubenatorial aide Lindsey Boylan, to publicly accuse the thrice-elected Democrat of sexual harassment in 2021.
She filed suit against the state in March 2023, alleging it failed to act to address her complaint that Cuomo subjected her to degrading sexual harassment on the job and accused her of lying when she came forward with the accusations.
As part of the settlement, Bennett — who worked as a top assistant and health policy adviser to Cuomo between May 2019 and June 2020 — agreed not to seek further employment in the state Executive Chamber.
The settlement gives Bennett lump sum payouts of $40,000 for post traumatic stress disorder and narcolepsy and $35,000 for emotional distress.
The state did not own up to any wrongdoing, or liability, in the agreement, according to a copy of the settlement obtained by The Post.
“This settlement was mutually agreed upon by the parties and allows the State to minimize further cost to the taxpayers,” Avi Small, a spokesman for Gov. Kathy Hochul, said in a statement.
Katz maintained her client’s allegations were supported by findings from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ Office and from the US Department of Justice.
But Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi touted the settlement as vindicating the former governor.
“If anyone ever questioned whether this situation was political from the start, today’s taxpayer funded nuisance settlement is proof positive,” he claimed.
Cuomo in December filed a notice that he would sue Bennett for defamation. That case is still pending but a civil complaint detailing his allegations has yet to be filed.
Bennett initially filed her federal lawsuit in September 2022 against Cuomo, his top lieutenant Melissa DeRosa and two other aides — but dropped that case in December just days before she was set to give a sworn deposition about her claims.
Bennett said at the time that Cuomo, 67, used the “unlimited” taxpayer funds at his disposal for his legal defense to attack her, causing her to feel she would be “better off dead than endure more of this litigation abuse.”
Cuomo’s legal team made evidence requests for Bennett’s medical records, including gynecologists, optometrists and from when she was a minor, Katz asserted at the time.
The former governor’s attorneys contended that Bennett withdrew the lawsuit to avoid having to admit under oath that her accusations were false.
0 Comments