Andrew Cuomo charged over alleged groping of former aide. To be arrested

Disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo was charged Thursday with groping a former aide in Albany’s Executive Mansion — a crime that could send him to jail for a year if he’s convicted.

A misdemeanor criminal complaint filed in Albany City Court alleges that Cuomo, 63, “did intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose, forcibly place his hand under the blouse shirt of the victim … and onto her intimate body part.”

“Specifically, the victims left breast for the purposes of degrading and satisfying his s*xual desire,” it adds.

The incident allegedly took place on the afternoon of Dec. 7 on the second floor of the Executive Mansion, the governor’s official residence.

The name of the alleged victim was redacted from the complaint, but a lawyer representing former Cuomo aide Brittany Commisso, 33, acknowledged it’s her.

The complaint charges Cuomo with forcible touching, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail.

The alleged evidence against him includes a text message from Cuomo’s cellphone, state police aviation records for Dec. 7 and news reports of a press conference that day, state police BlackBerry PIN messages, swipe card records from the state Capitol, and Commisso’s testimony to the Attorney General’s Office.


A summons has been issued directing the former governor to appear in Albany City Court on Nov. 17, according to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office and the Albany County District Attorney’s Office.

Cuomo is expected to surrender to authorities sometime next week to be arrested and booked, sources said.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares opened a criminal investigation of Cuomo on Aug. 3, shortly after state Attorney General Letitia James detailed the alleged groping incident in a report that accused the then-governor of sexually harassing 11 women, including nine current or former state workers.


Six days later, Commisso, an administrative assistant in the governor’s office, went public in a tearful interview on “CBS This Morning” during which she said Cuomo “put his hand up my blouse and cupped my breast over my bra” inside Albany’s Executive Mansion in November.

“The governor needs to be held accountable,” said Commisso.

“What he did to me was a crime. He broke the law.”

In a statement Thursday evening, Soares said, “Like the rest of the public, we were surprised to learn today that a criminal complaint was filed in Albany City Court by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office against Andrew Cuomo.”