Disgraced former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo will not be prosecuted on a misdemeanor sex crime for forcibly touching an assistant, Brittany Commisso, during a 2020 interaction at the Executive Mansion in Albany.
Commisso claimed that Cuomo groped her breast, and she filed a complaint with Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple. But Apple subsequently caused a firestorm in October when he filed a misdemeanor criminal complaint in Albany City Court without first notifying Commisso or District Attorney David Soares’ office.
In a statement on Tuesday, Soares said, “While many have an opinion regarding the allegations against the former Governor, the Albany County DA’s Office is the only one who has a burden to prove the elements of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt. 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. As such we have notified the Court that we are declining to prosecute this matter and requesting the charges filed by the Albany County Sheriff be dismissed.”
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Soares noted that he, “like most New Yorkers,” is “deeply troubled by allegations like the ones at issue here.”
“Such conduct has no place in government or in any workplace,” Soares’ statement said. “Although avenues for criminal prosecution in these cases are sometimes limited, I encourage victims of workplace harassment and abuse to continue to come forward and bring these issues to light so that these important discussions can continue.”
The choice to end the criminal prosecution of Cuomo does not exclude a future civil suit, which Soares said “is beyond the scope of a District Attorney’s jurisdiction.”
Commisso, 33, slammed the move. In an interview Tuesday with the New York Post, she said the D.A.’s “disappointing” decision is “deterring women from coming forward.”
“I don’t think that it’s teaching anyone anything. It’s not showing or proving a good message,” she added.
Her lawyer Brian Premo said earlier Monday that his client “had no control over the filing or prosecution of criminal charges. She had no authority or voice in those decisions.”
“The only thing she has any power over is her resolution to continue to speak the truth and seek justice in an appropriate civil action, which she will do in due course,” he added.
After Apple filed the criminal complaint in October, Premo said that Commisso had believed Soares’ and Apples’ offices were in agreement that there would be a “thorough, impartial and apolitical evaluation of the case” and that, upon completion, she would be allowed to decide whether to proceed.
“Like the district attorney’s office, she was informed about this recent filing through media,” Premo told the Albany Times Union once the charges became public.
Forcible touching is a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to one year in prison or three years probation. Prosecutors would have had to prove in court that Cuomo “forcibly” touched Commisso “for the purpose of degrading or abusing such person, or for the purpose of gratifying the actor’s sexual desire.”
The prosecution, had it gone forward, would have been the first criminal action taken against Cuomo since New York Attorney General Letitia James’ bombshell August report, which set in motion Cuomo’s resignation. It found that Cuomo sexually harassed at least 11 current and former female staffers and engaged in a “pattern of inappropriate conduct” that got swept under the rug in a “hostile” and “unsafe” work environment.
In recent weeks, prosecutors in Nassau and Westchester Counties announced they would not pursue criminal charges against Cuomo over allegations by two female state troopers that the then-governor kissed them and touched them inappropriately.
In late December, Westchester County D.A. Mimi Rocah said that her office’s investigation “found credible evidence to conclude that the alleged conduct in both instances described above did occur,” but statutory requirements of the criminal laws of New York prevented them from proceeding.
A week prior, acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith said that an “exhaustive” investigation found the allegations “credible, deeply troubling, but not criminal under New York law.”
Tuesday’s development is the second piece of rare good news for Cuomo in 24 hours. On Monday, the Manhattan district attorney’s office reportedly closed its investigation into allegations that Cuomo concealed massive numbers of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.
“I was told that after a thorough investigation—as we have said all along—there was no evidence to suggest that any laws were broken,” defense attorney Elkan Abramowitz said in a statement.
According to another bombshell report released in early 2021 by Attorney General James, the New York State Health Department undercounted nursing home COVID deaths by up to 50 percent.
Cuomo has long insisted that state health officials separated nursing home deaths from nursing home residents who died in hospitals because they worried about double counting. He insisted the final tally was in fact accurate.
A spokesperson for Cuomo did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Tuesday.
