ALBANY, NY – Albany Police Department officials said on Thursday that they had been notified by the New York State Police and the governor’s office of an alleged incident at the Executive Mansion involving Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and an aide who may to have risen “to the level of a crime. “
Steve Smith, a Albany police spokesman, said the department had not received a formal complaint from the woman, who was not identified, but that she had sought a lawyer for her.
This does not mean, said Mr. Smith, that the department opened a criminal investigation, but offered its services to the alleged victim, “as we would do with any other report or incident”.
Albany police officers said they heard the state police on Wednesday night after an article was published in The Times Union of Albany detailing the charges made by an unidentified aide to the governor who accused Cuomo of groping her at the governor’s mansion , where does he live.
State Police spokesman William Duffy confirmed contact with the Albany department, saying it was “to facilitate contact with the executive chamber regarding the alleged incident”.
Mr. Smith said deputy police chief Edward Donohue, who oversees the department’s criminal investigation unit, spoke with the governor’s attorney.
The governor’s interim adviser, Beth Garvey, confirmed the conversation, saying she had initiated the call and reported the charges, after an adviser to the governor’s office told the governor’s office that the advisor did not want to make a complaint.
“As a matter of state policy, when allegations of physical contact are made, the agency informs the complainant that he must contact the local police department,” Garvey said in a statement. “If they refuse, the agency has an obligation to contact and inform the department of the allegation.”
“In this case, the person is represented by an attorney and when the attorney confirmed that the client did not want to make a complaint, the state notified the police department and gave them the attorney’s information,” added Ms. Garvey.
While the actions of the police department are part of the standard procedure, the situation highlights the potential criminal exposure that Cuomo faces if the aide decides to prosecute charges for unwanted touch.
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The aide, who is younger than Cuomo, was summoned to the governor’s private residence on the second floor to help him with a technical problem when Cuomo reached into her blouse and started touching her, The Times said. Union.
On Wednesday, the governor denied any wrongdoing.
“I’ve never done anything like this,” said Cuomo in a statement, adding that the report was “distressing”.
Cuomo, a third-term Democrat, said he would not “talk about the details of this or any other allegation”, citing an ongoing investigation overseen by state attorney general Letitia James.
“I am confident of the outcome of the attorney general’s report,” said Cuomo.
An office supervisor became aware of the advisor’s allegation on March 3, when Mr. Cuomo, after several allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior, gave an apology on television in which he denied touching someone inappropriately. . The newspaper reported that the supervisor noticed that the advisor was thrilled during the governor’s speech and that the advisor later told the supervisor about her meeting with the governor.
The aide did not file a formal complaint with the governor’s office, the newspaper reported, but the complaint was sent this week to the state attorney general.