Cuomo Ex-Staffer Files Criminal Complaint With N.Y. Sheriff
Cuomo Ex-Staffer Files Criminal Complaint With Albany Sheriff
(Bloomberg) -- The sheriff’s office in Albany has received a criminal complaint against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, filed by a former staffer.
Albany County Sheriff Craig D. Apple confirmed the filing of the complaint in a text message Friday and declined to comment further on the matter.
Cuomo is facing possible criminal investigations in four New York counties after the state attorney general released a damning report earlier this week finding the governor sexually harassed 11 women and created a “climate of fear” in his offices.
The sheriff’s office said it could not make the complaint public because it was an open investigation, according to undersheriff William M. Rice. Once the investigation is closed, the office would release the complaint, he said.
District attorneys in Manhattan as well as Westchester, Nassau and Albany counties have all requested information from New York Attorney General Letitia James’s office about instances of misconduct that may have taken place in their jurisdictions.
Cuomo’s lawyer Paul Fishman referred comment to Cuomo’s office. Spokesman Rich Azzopardi didn’t respond to questions about the complaint. He instead cited a previous statement that the governor’s office had referred the issue to the sheriff’s office.
According to James’s report, Cuomo reached under the blouse of his executive assistant and grabbed her breast while at the Executive Mansion in Albany. In March, his office informed the Albany police department of the groping accusation after the aide made claims that surfaced in the Albany Times-Union.
Cuomo has denied the findings of James’s report. “I never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances,” he said Tuesday. “That is just not who I am or who I have ever been.” The governor also issued his own 85-page report challenging the allegations.
The New York Post earlier reported the complaint.
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