Prosecutor drops groping charge against Cuomo

ALBANY, N.Y. — Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo won’t face criminal prosecution over an allegation that he fondled an aide after a prosecutor said Tuesday he couldn’t prove the case.

Three days before the Democratic ex-governor was due to answer the misdemeanor charge in court, Albany County District Attorney David Soares asked a judge to dismiss a criminal complaint that the county sheriff filed in October.

“While we found the complainant in this case cooperative and credible, after review of all the available evidence, we have concluded that we cannot meet our burden at trial,” Soares said in a statement, adding that he was “deeply troubled” by the allegation.

Soares, a Democrat, didn’t detail why he felt it would be tough to win a conviction.

In a letter to the judge, he said “statutory elements of New York law make this case impossible to prove.“He added that multiple government inquiries into Cuomo’s conduct had created “technical and procedural hurdles” regarding prosecutors’ obligations to disclose evidence to the defense.

Soares said his office considered other potential criminal charges, but none fit the allegations.

Cuomo, who has vehemently denied the allegation, had no immediate comment on the development, first reported by The Times-Union of Albany.

The charges against Cuomo were based on allegations by

Brittany Commisso, one of the governor’s executive assistants before he resigned amid sexual misconduct allegations in August.

Commisso says Cuomo slid his hand up her blouse and grabbed her breast when they were alone in an office at the governor’s mansion in Albany in late 2020.

Her lawyer, Brian Premo, said in a statement Tuesday that she “had no control over the filing or prosecution of criminal charges. She had no authority or voice in those decisions.”