Cuomo won't face criminal charges in Westchester County over unwanted kisses
NEW YORK - Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo will not be facing criminal charges in Westchester County, a prosecutor announced Tuesday afternoon.
District Attorney Miriam Rocah said that her office conducted a "thorough" investigation into the allegations reported by two women against the former governor that occurred in Westchester County. While investigators found these accusations to be credible, the DA will not be pursuing criminal charges "due to the statutory requirements of the criminal laws of New York," Rocah said in a statement.
A female state trooper who was on Cuomo's personal security detail alleged that the governor asked to kiss her while she was on duty at his home in Mount Kisco. She told the state Attorney General's Office, which was investigating Cuomo at the time, that she was worried about the ramifications if she told him no, so she said "sure" and Cuomo kissed her on the cheek.
After, the trooper said Cuomo told her something to the effect of, "I'm not supposed to do that" or "that goes against the rules."
This woman was identified as "Trooper 1" in the attorney general's report, which was released after a five-month investigation into the numerous sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo. She detailed numerous instances where the governor was allegedly "flirtatious and creepy," including one time, in an elevator, she says he ran the palm of his left hand across her stomach, to her belly button and then to her right hip, where she kept her gun.
Westchester County's investigation was limited to incidents that allegedly occurred within the county's borders.
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Rocah said her office also was investigating a second allegation that occurred within her jurisdiction. Susan Iannucci, a 61-year-old office manager for the White Plains Public School District, accused Cuomo of kissing her on the cheek without her consent after a press conference at the high school. Iannucci's allegation came after the attorney general released her report but called the event "traumatizing."
Numerous district attorneys from around the state opened investigations into the sexual harassment allegations outlined in the attorney general's report released in August and so far only one county is pursing criminal charges.
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Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple filed a criminal complaint against Cuomo at the end of October, charging him with forcibly touching an executive assistant, Brittany Commisso, last year. The criminal complaint accuses Cuomo of reaching under Commisso's blouse on Dec. 7, 2020, while at the Executive Mansion in Albany. Apple said that "there was enough probable cause to present evidence to the court."
However, Albany County District Attorney David Soares disagreed a few weeks later. In a letter to an Albany judge, Soares called the case "potentially defective" because it did not include a sworn statement from Commisso among other things.
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The judge agreed to delay Cuomo's scheduled arraignment until Jan. 7, 2022.
Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith was also investigating allegations that occurred within her jurisdiction but released a statement last week saying that her office would not pursue criminal charges against Cuomo.
"Our exhaustive investigation found the allegations credible, deeply troubling, but not criminal under New York law," the statement read. "It is important to note that our investigation was limited to alleged conduct at Belmont Racetrack, and prosecutors in other jurisdictions continue to review other allegations of misconduct by Mr. Cuomo."
A spokesman for Cuomo did not immediately return a request for comment.