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Latest allegation against Cuomo referred to Albany PD

Mar 12, 2021 6:15 am

The Times Union Capitol Bureau is reporting the latest allegations of sexual harassment by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo were reported to the Albany Police Department late March 10, just hours after the details of an aide's account of what she described as sexually aggressive groping by the governor were made public. The referral was made by Cuomo's office as required by state law; it was confirmed by the Albany PD spokesperson and first reported by the New York Times. While police department spokesperson Steve Smith told the Times the call came from the State Police, Cuomo’s acting counsel, Beth Garvey, said that she called and reported the allegations after a lawyer for the aide involved told the governor’s office she did not want to file a police report. Smith said the referral did not mean an investigation had begun, but that the police would offer services to the alleged victim. The administration has taken criticism for its failure to refer a complaint from Charlotte Bennett, another Cuomo aide who made allegations against him, to the Governor's Office of Employee Relations, as required by his own 2018 executive order. The Times Union reported Wednesday evening the female aide has alleged Cuomo aggressively groped her in a sexually charged manner after she had been called to the Executive Mansion under the apparent pretext of having her assist the governor with a minor technical issue involving his mobile phone. The allegations leveled by the aide, who is the sixth woman to accuse Cuomo of inappropriate behavior, describe the most egregious conduct attributed to the governor to date. In a statement released to the Times Union late March 10, Cuomo denied the latest allegations, saying, "The details of this report are gut-wrenching. I am not going to speak to the specifics of this or any other allegation given the ongoing review, but I am confident in the result of the attorney general’s report.” The office of New York Attorney General Letitia James is managing the investigation into multiple harassment claims against the governor. Read the full story in the Times Union.