Manhattan DA Vance among prosecutors seeking info on Cuomo sexual harassment claims
ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo is facing potential criminal investigations in multiple parts of the state as prosecutors, including Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr., seek “investigative materials” related to sexual harassment claims.
Vance’s office is probing Cuomo for “potential sex crimes” in the wake of a bombshell report from state Attorney General Letitia James’ office that outlined predatory behavior on the part of the governor that includes making unwanted advances and sexual comments to at least 11 women.
Manhattan prosecutors are specifically looking to speak with a state trooper who says she endured “unwelcome touching” while working on the governor’s security detail, according to a letter Vance’s office made public Wednesday.
Prosecutors from Westchester, Nassau and Albany counties are also looking into the Democratic governor’s conduct.
James’ report was the result of a five-month independent investigation that corroborated the accounts of accusers, mostly much younger staffers, who say Cuomo harassed them.
“When our office learned yesterday that the attorney general’s investigation of the governor’s conduct was complete, our office contacted the attorney general’s office to begin requesting investigative materials in their possession pertaining to incidents that occurred in Manhattan,” Vance spokesman Danny Frost said.
Lindsey Boylan, a former Cuomo adviser, earlier this year was the first woman to go public with her claims against the governor. She says that the governor once kissed her without her consent at his Manhattan office.
Several other women who worked for the 63-year-old pol shared similar accounts, leading to calls for Cuomo’s resignation from the likes of President Biden and state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs.
During a briefing Tuesday, James said that the investigation clearly found that Cuomo broke state and federal law. However, she did not make any recommendations for criminal prosecution, instead leaving it up to local district attorneys to determine whether the governor will face any charges.
Westchester County District Attorney Mimi Rocah said in a statement, “As some of the governor’s conduct described in the report occurred in Westchester County, we have formally requested investigative materials obtained by the AG’s office.”
According to the report, Cuomo repeatedly harassed a female state trooper assigned to his security detail.
The trooper shared several instances in which the governor touched her inappropriately or commented about her appearance during her tenure working on his travel team and guarding him at his former Mount Kisco, Westchester County, home, which he shared with former girlfriend Sandra Lee.
In 2019, the trooper was stationed outside the tony residence when Cuomo asked if he could kiss her, she said.
“I remember just freezing,” she told investigators. “In the back of my head, I’m like, oh, how do I say no politely because in my head if I said no, he’s going to take it out on the detail. And now I’m on the bad list.”
Fearing for her job, she replied, “Sure.”
“The governor then proceeded to kiss Trooper #1 on the cheek and said something to the effect of, ‘Oh, I’m not supposed to do that’ or ‘unless that’s against the rules,’” the report said.
The trooper described another encounter in which Cuomo ran his finger down her back while the pair were riding in an elevator up to his Manhattan office and said, “Hey, you.”
Another woman claims Cuomo grabbed her butt while the pair posed for a photo at a 2019 event in the city.
Manhattan Chief Assistant District Attorney Nitin Savur requested evidence related to two “potential sex crimes incidents” as well as contact information for the two women in his letter to the attorney general’s office.
“In order to properly investigate these potential sex crimes, it is necessary for us to speak with the two victims,” Savur wrote.
Albany County District Attorney David Soares also said his office would “welcome any victim to contact our office with additional information” about Cuomo.
Soares said Tuesday that he, too, plans to request investigative materials from the state attorney general’s probe.
Several of the women say the governor made sexually charged comments and touched them inappropriately while working in the state Capitol.
Another of Cuomo’s accusers, a young woman who worked in his administration, claims that the governor groped her at the governor’s mansion in Albany late last year.
The staffer told investigators that she “in no way, shape or form invited that nor did I ask for it. I didn’t want it. I feel like I was being taken advantage of.”
She said she feared for her job and initially remained resolved to take the incident “to the grave,” but later related her account to co-workers after witnessing Cuomo publicly deny ever touching a woman inappropriately.
Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing and said Tuesday he would welcome the chance to tell his side of the story in court.
“Trial by newspaper or biased reviews are not the way to find the facts in this matter,” he said during a pretaped rebuttal to James’ report.
The governor has also defiantly resisted calls for his resignation from across the political spectrum and longtime supporters in the labor world as talk of impeachment heats up in the Assembly.
Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) said he believes the governor is no longer fit to lead the state and said he plans to expedite the ongoing impeachment probe that began back in March.
At least 83 of the chamber’s 150 members have said publicly or told The Associated Press that they are in favor of beginning the process to oust the three-term governor if he won’t step down. A simple majority vote would kick off an impeachment trial.
