New York Gov’s top aide resigns amid harassment claims

Bloomberg

Melissa DeRosa, the highest-ranking aide to Andrew Cuomo, resigned as the embattled New York governor contends with possible criminal charges over numerous harassment claims and a potential impeachment trial.
DeRosa, who had remained one of Cuomo’s chief defenders throughout multiple scandals, said she would step down from her post as secretary to the governor after what she called a difficult couple of years on the job.
“The past 2 years have been emotionally and mentally trying,” she said in a statement provided to Bloomberg News. “I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have worked with such talented and committed colleagues on behalf of our state.”
Cuomo’s office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
The daughter of a prominent Albany lobbyist, DeRosa began working for Cuomo as his communications director in 2013, and rose to become secretary to the governor in 2017.
One of the few people to pierce the governor’s fiercely guarded inner circle, DeRosa became known as one of Cuomo’s top enforcers even as she cultivated a reputation as a women’s rights advocate.
Her staunch loyalty highlighted how Cuomo deftly surrounded himself with women who defended his aggressive behaviour while helping him burnish an image of a leader who champions women.
DeRosa spent the last year publicly defending Cuomo against claims he sexually harassed his staffers, covered up nursing home deaths and misused public funds to write a $5 million book. With her resignation, Cuomo is left with even fewer allies as calls to resign across New York and Washington grow louder.

Cuomo Enforcer
DeRosa has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing but she features prominently in many of the scandals swirling around Cuomo, including a report released last week by state
Attorney General Letitia James that said Cuomo harassed 11 women.