Albany DA drops groping charges against Cuomo
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
The Albany County District
Attorney has dropped
his investigation into groping
charges against ex-Gov.
Andrew Cuomo, just days
ahead of the the former head
of state’s arraignment in
court.
Albany DA David Soares
released a statement Tuesday
saying former aide Brittany
Commisso’s allegations
against Cuomo were “credible”
but that the evidence did
not suffi ce to prove the accusations
beyond a reasonable
“While we found the complainant
in this case cooperative
and credible, after
review of all the available
evidence we have concluded
that we cannot meet our
burden at trial,” Soares said
on Jan. 4. “As such we have
notifi ed the Court that we
are declining to prosecute
this matter and requesting
the charges fi led by the Albany
County Sheriff be dismissed.”
Commisso accused
Cuomo of putting his hands
under her shirt and touching
her breast her at the
Executive Mansion in Albany
on Dec. 7, 2020, one of
the most serious allegations
from the bombshell report by
State Attorney General Letitia
James’s offi ce into sexual
misconduct allegations
against the former governor.
Cuomo denies her allegation.
Soares’s decision — fi rst
reported by the Albany
Times Union late Monday —
comes as Cuomo was scheduled
to appear in court on
Friday afternoon, and the
upstate DA added that he
was “deeply troubled” by the
allegations.
“I, like most New Yorkers,
remain deeply troubled
by allegations like the ones
at issue here. Such conduct
has no place in government
or in any workplace,” he
said.
Prosecutors told on Monday
told Commisso they
weren’t moving forward because
of the way the misdemeanor
complaint had been
fi led in local court by Albany
County Sheriff Craig Apple
in late October, according to
the Times Union’s report.
A Soares spokesperson
did not immediately confi
rm that report.
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Apple fi led the complaint
on Oct. 28 without the DA
or Commisso’s legal team
knowing about it.
The outgoing Manhattan
District Attorney Cyrus
Vance ended his offi ce’s
probe into the Cuomo administration’s
oversight of
nursing homes during the
pandemic on Thursday, just
days before incoming DA Alvin
Bragg took over the offi
ce, according to the New
York Post, with a lawyer for
the onetime governor telling
the paper the prosecutor’s
offi ce didn’t fi nd evidence
that the Executive Chamber
broke the law.
Both the Westchester
County and Nassau County
district attorneys also declined
to fi le charges in recent
weeks against Cuomo
over their look into allegations
he gave unwanted
kisses to two women, including
a state trooper.
The pair of prosecutors
released similar statements
saying these accusations
were credible but not criminal
under New York law.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference, in New
York, U.S., May 10, 2021. Mary Altaffer/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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