Nassau County DA says touching claims against ex-Gov. Cuomo troubling but not criminal

A Long Island prosecutor says an allegation that  former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo inappropriately touched a state police trooper was “deeply troubling,” but did not warrant criminal charges against the disgraced executive.

In a statement, Acting Nassau County District Attorney Joyce Smith said Thursday her office looked at only the allegation pertaining to an incident at Belmont Park when the trooper served on Cuomo's security detail.

According to the independent investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, the alleged incident occurred Sept. 23, 2019, during an event at the racetrack. The female trooper, who was not identified in the report, claimed Cuomo ran his left palm across her stomach as she held the door for him when he was leaving the event.

The trooper told the lawyers leading the investigation that she “felt completely violated” but did not believe she could do anything about the governor’s behavior because she had been recently assigned and had heard others had been punished if they did anything to provoke Cuomo.

Another member of the security detail was walking behind the then-governor and corroborated the trooper’s account.

The trooper was one of 11 women who spoke to the investigators. New York Attorney General Letitia James released the investigation’s findings in August, and that 165-page report eventually led to Cuomo’s resignation later that month.

Other accusations made by the trooper against Cuomo included another touching incident when she said he ran his finger down her spine. Cuomo also reportedly told her she was “too old” for him when he initiated a conversation about dating relationships.

James’ report said the women’s allegations were credible. In Thursday’s statement, Joyce concurred with the trooper’s account of the Belmont Park incident. However, that was not enough.

“Our exhaustive investigation found the allegations credible, deeply troubling, but not criminal under New York law,” Smith said.

Cuomo wasted little time in responding to the announcement.

A spokesman for the former governor issued a statement Thursday afternoon saying Joyce’s decision was proof that the independent investigation James oversaw was a sham that triggered “a media and political stampede” at Cuomo.

“James never presented evidence to support such claims, her report omitted important exculpatory facts, she admitted her personal interference in preparing the report and has still refused to answer any questions from the press,” Rich Azzopardi said in a statement posted on Twitter. “It was obviously a political springboard to remove Gov. Cuomo so she could run for office. However, it was so poorly done, and obviously, it backfired, and James’ run for governor lasted only five weeks.”

Cuomo still faces legal issues stemming from the independent investigation. That includes a charge of forcible touching in Albany, which stemmed from a former assistant's allegations.

The misdemeanor charge was announced in late October but caught the Albany County prosecutor by surprise. A hearing set for last month was pushed back to Jan. 7 after Albany County District Attorney David Soares told Judge Holly Trexler that he found the complaint filed by the sheriff’s department to be deficient since it was missing a sworn statement from the alleged victim.