Shame on the previous government. The Post has learned that Andrew Cuomo is expected to be arrested next week and charged with a misdemeanor over alleged contact with a former aide.
A source familiar with the matter said Thursday that the expected charge is the result of an investigation by Albany County’s attorney general, David Soares.
The Albanian Federation Times It reported that a criminal summons accusing Cuomo of forcible contact was filed in error by a sheriff’s investigator in Albany City Court on Thursday.
The Times Union said the summons was filed without the consent of the accused, Brittany Commisso, or her lawyer.
Cuomo’s looming arrest is believed to be why Attorney General Letitia James decided to tell a major union leader on Wednesday that she would launch a campaign for governor “soon,” according to the source briefed on the matter.
The source said James – who released the explosive sexual harassment report that forced Cuomo to resign in August – is expected to announce her primary challenge to Governor Cathy Hochhol before next week’s arrest.
Soares opened a criminal investigation into Cuomo, 63, hours after detailing the alleged harassment incident in James’ August 3 report, which accused him of harassing 11 women, including nine current or former state employees.
Six days later, Comiso, an administrative assistant in the governor’s office, appeared to the public in a tearful interview on “CBS This Morning” in which she said that Comiso “put his hand over my blouse and rolled my chest over my chest” inside the Albany Executive Palace in November.
“The governor should be held accountable,” Commisso, 33, said.
“What he did to me was a crime. He broke the law.”
Cuomo – who has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing – announced his resignation the next day, saying that “my instinct is to fight” but that “the best way I can help now is to step aside”.
Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said Commisso later spent “several hours” questioning him by investigators after law enforcement officials issued several subpoenas relating to her allegations.
Como’s alleged harassment is the most serious incident detailed in James’ report, who also accused Cuomo of grabbing women’s heels and running his hand through the stomach of a government policewoman dedicated to his protective detail.
New York’s Penal Code makes it illegal to touch the “intimate parts” of a person to satisfy a “sexual desire” or to insult or abuse the victim.
The offense of “forced touch” is a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of one year in prison. In addition to Soares, four other attorneys for New York County — in Manhattan, as well as Nassau, Westchester and Oswego counties — said they are investigating various allegations in James’ report.
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