One of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s accusers on Thursday blamed senior staffers in his office for his alleged groping of a female assistant who spoke out publicly for the first time — saying they “normalized and enabled” his “heinous behavior.”
Former Cuomo aide Charlotte Bennett, 25, said the 63-year-old governor’s alleged “pattern of predatory behavior is clear-cut and abhorrent, and the similarities between my allegations and the allegations of my anonymous former co-worker are nauseating.”
“He abuses his authority to groom, sexually harass and grope staff,” Bennett said in a prepared statement.
“His heinous behavior was normalized and enabled by the senior staff who failed to report my allegations in June 2020.”
Another accuser, former aide Ana Liss, 35, echoed Bennett’s accusations in an email to The Post, saying that the women Cuomo allegedly “groomed and abused were, in so many cases, younger than his own daughters.”
Charlotte Bennett accused Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment. Handout“The workplace he cultivated lionized predation and abuse of vulnerable female staff,” she wrote.
“It is and was a scary, threatening, depressing environment that threw many young workers – myself included – into mental health crises.”
The remarks by Bennett and Liss came a day after the Albany Times Union published an exclusive interview with an unidentified female aide, who offered a detailed account of allegedly being groped by Cuomo in his Executive Mansion office in November.
Former Cuomo aide Charlotte Bennett, 25, said the 63-year-old governor’s alleged “pattern of predatory behavior is clear-cut and abhorrent …” CBSWhen she entered his second-floor office, she told the paper, Cuomo came out from behind the desk and aggressively embraced her in what she described as an overtly sexual manner “that wasn’t just a hug.”
“His heinous behavior was normalized and enabled by the senior staff who failed to report my allegations in June 2020,” Charlotte Bennett said of Andrew Cuomo. Handout“He went for it and I kind of like was, ‘Oh, the door is right there,’” she said.
“I didn’t know what else to say. … It was pretty much like ‘What are you doing?’ That’s when he slammed the door. He said, ‘I don’t care.’”
Although the sound of the door was loud enough that Cuomo’s staff most likely wondered what was going on, he wasn’t deterred, she said.
Andrew Cuomo allegedly groped Charlotte Bennett. Brendan McDermid-Pool/Getty Images“He came right back and he pulled me close and all I remember is seeing his hand, his big hand,” she said.
“I remember looking down like, ‘Holy sh–.’”
Cuomo then reached under her blouse and grabbed one of her breasts over her bra, she said.
Charlotte Bennett’s lawyer, Debra Katz, specifically accused Cuomo’s chief of staff, Jill DesRosiers (pictured), and special counsel Judith Mogul of telling Bennett they didn’t need to report her allegations of sexual harassment. HandoutBennett — who has accused Cuomo of sexually harassing her — added: “His predatory behavior must stop, and those who enable him must be brave enough to hold him accountable.”
Bennett’s lawyer, Debra Katz, specifically accused Cuomo’s chief of staff, Jill DesRosiers, and special counsel Judith Mogul of telling Bennett they didn’t need to report her allegations of sexual harassment to the Government Office of Employee Relations, “which would have necessitated an investigation.”
Charlotte Bennett’s lawyer Debra Katz. Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images“The rationale they gave her for this clear derogation of their legal duties, was that the Governor was ‘only grooming’ her for a sexual relationship and she reported it ‘before it went any further,'” Katz said in a statement.
“Their failure to act allowed the Governor to continue to ‘groom’ women for sex, with impunity.”
Debrah Katz accused Judith Mogul (pictured) of saying Charlotte Bennett’s allegations of sexual harassment by Andrew Cuomo didn’t need to be reported. APDesRosiers and Mogul “fostered a toxic culture of enablement and abuse, which led to the aggressive groping of this woman, who was simply trying to do her job,” Katz said.
“This behavior was completely preventable.”
The allegations by Bennett and several other women are under investigation by outside lawyers hired by Attorney General Letitia James and are also part of an impeachment probe being conducted by the state Assembly Judiciary Committee.
The New York state Executive Mansion on April 22, 2020, in Albany, New York, the official residence of Andrew Cuomo. Roy Rochlin/Getty ImagesIn a statement released by Cuomo’s office, Mogul said, “The statements and actions attributed to me are false and I stand by my prior statement that I acted consistently with the information Charlotte provided at the time, the requirements of the law and Charlotte’s wishes.”
Cuomo’s office also said it was checking to see if DesRosiers wanted to comment.
On Wednesday, Cuomo’s lawyer, Rita Glavin, said the three-term Democrat “has repeatedly made clear that he never made inappropriate advances or inappropriately touched anyone.”





