4 January 2022: Albany County DA Expected to Drop Forcible Touching Case Against Cuomo

District attorney expected to drop groping case against Cuomo

Andrew M. Cuomo will escape facing prosecution in the most serious case in which criminal misdemeanor charges of sexual harassment have been alleged against him.

The Albany County district attorney's office is expected to drop a forcible touching complaint against former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the Times Union has learned.

The decision comes just days before Cuomo is scheduled to make his first appearance in Albany City Court on Friday afternoon to face a misdemeanor charge alleging that he groped a 33-year-old female aide in December 2020 during a workplace encounter at the Executive Mansion. And it comes after two other district attorneys announced they would not pursue criminal charges against him for alleged inappropriate conduct with women.

It was not clear late Monday whether the district attorney's office would continue to investigate the groping allegation, which had been the most serious sexual misconduct accusation leveled against the ex-governor. The criminal charge had been the result of a complaint filed by the Albany County sheriff's office in late October without the knowledge of the district attorney's office.

The alleged victim, Brittany Commisso, had wanted to pursue the case but was informed during a meeting with prosecutors on Monday afternoon that they were planning to invoke their discretion not to move forward, in part, because of the manner in which the criminal complaint had been filed, according to a person briefed on the matter.

This outcome was largely expected given Albany County DA David Soares' aversion to pursuing criminal charges against powerful New York state politicians.