Tuesday, October 20, 2026
A Glen Cove man who was named in a civil lawsuit involving allegations of sexual assault at a Cornell University fraternity house has been dropped from the litigation after his attorney said he was mistakenly identified as the fraternity's president at the time of the alleged incident.
A notice of discontinuance was filed on Oct. 20, removing Orazio Petito, a Chaminade High School graduate and former president of Cornell's Xi Chapter of Chi Phi fraternity, from the lawsuit. The fraternity and seven men accused of sexually assaulting a former Cornell student remain defendants.
Eric Bernstein, Petito's Manhattan-based attorney, told the Herald that his client was not serving as fraternity president when the alleged assault occurred in October 2024.
"We're pleased with the outcome," Bernstein said. "Without commenting on the veracity of the allegations in the case, they had the wrong guy."
Bernstein added that Petito was not president at the time of the alleged incident and said "justice was served."
Petito was never accused of participating in the alleged sexual assault. The notice of discontinuance removes him from the civil litigation but does not constitute a judicial determination of the underlying allegations.
The original 101-page complaint, filed Sept. 16 in State Supreme Court in Manhattan, identified Petito as president of the fraternity's executive board "at all relevant times." It alleged that he failed to properly supervise the fraternity house and its members.
The lawsuit was filed by a former Cornell student identified under the pseudonym Jane Doe, who alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted by seven men at the Chi Phi fraternity house during the night of Oct. 19 into Oct. 20, 2024.
The seven men named in the lawsuit are Matthew Ingalls, Johnathan Newell, Winston Lee, also identified as Lee Jun Hyung, Gillio Lopes, Diego Sarabia, Scott Norris and Scott Kretzschmar.
Doe alleges that she was too intoxicated to consent to sexual activity. The defendants have denied wrongdoing, maintaining that the sexual encounters were consensual.
Doe reported the alleged assault to Cornell University Police in 2024, but prosecutors initially declined to pursue criminal charges.
The allegations subsequently prompted renewed scrutiny of Cornell's handling of the complaint and the original criminal investigation. Gov. Kathy Hochul appointed state Attorney General Letitia James as special prosecutor after authorities reopened the investigation. Simultaneously, Sally Yates, aformer U.S. deputy attorney general, is leaing an independent review for the university.
"The young woman at the center of this case deserves to know that every fact will be examined and justice pursued," Hochul wrote in a statement. "This action will ensure that the matter is fully and thoroughly investigated without conflict or bias, and handled independently with the rigor that this matter demands."
The case has also drawn attention from state lawmakers, including Assemblyman Charles Lavine, whose district includes Glen Cove. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie appointed him to a working group examining New York's sexual assault statutes.
"I am deeply troubled by the allegations surrounding the Cornell rape case," Lavine previously told the Herald. "Particularly the vile attempts by so many to blame the victim. The voices of crime victims must be listened to. Those responsible must be prosecuted and held accountable."
Lavine said he hoped the group's recommendations would help protect New Yorkers.
Although Petito is no longer a defendant, the civil litigation against Cornell, the fraternity organizations and the seven accused men continues, alongside the reopened criminal investigation.
