Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is accused of sexually harrassing a female state trooper and Susan Iannucci on seperate occasions.
Caitlin Ochs/REUTERS
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is off the hook for planting unwanted kisses on a female state trooper and a random woman during separate incidents while he was in office, the Westchester County district attorney said Tuesday.
District Attorney Miriam Rocah said a “thorough investigation” produced “credible evidence to conclude that the alleged conduct in both instances … did occur.”
“However, in both instances, my Office has determined that, although the allegations and witnesses were credible, and the conduct concerning, we cannot pursue criminal charges due to the statutory requirements of the criminal laws of New York,” Rocah said in a prepared statement.
The announcement came less than a week after acting Nassau DA Joyce Smith said “credible” and “deeply troubling” allegations that Cuomo ran his hand across the trooper’s belly at Long Island’s Belmont Park in 2019 were also “not criminal under New York law.”
The Westchester incident involving the unidentified trooper, who was serving as one of Cuomo’s bodyguards, allegedly took place outside the Mount Kisco house Cuomo shared with then-girlfriend and TV chef Sandra Lee during the summer of 2019.
When the trooper approached Cuomo in the driveway and asked if he needed anything, he allegedly asked if he could kiss her.
The trooper said “she was concerned about the ramifications of denying the Governor’s request and so she said ‘sure,’ ” after which Cuomo kissed her on the cheek, according to Rocah’s statement.
The other Westchester incident involved Susan Iannucci, who held a news conference with famed women’s rights lawyer Gloria Allred in August after Cuomo included a photo of himself kissing her in a slideshow of similar shots to try to rebut the sexual misconduct allegations that forced him to resign from office.
Iannucci, 62, said the picture was snapped on June 12, 2018, when “Cuomo held a press conference in my hometown of White Plains, NY, which I attended with a friend.”
“As he was mingling with the crowd after his speech, he hugged my friend and then he turned his attention to me,” Iannucci tearfully recalled.
“He looked me in the eye, grabbed my arm and pulled me toward him and kissed me on the cheek without asking me if I was OK with such a personal greeting.”
Iannucci also accused Cuomo of using the photo of him kissing her ” to push a narrative that his habit of invading people’s personal space is justified,” adding: “I don’t appreciate him using my picture to spin a story.”
Iannucci told The Post on Tuesday that Allred had communicated with the Westchester DA’s Office on her behalf.
“I didn’t expect there would be any criminal charges for what happened to me,” she said.”I simply wanted to clear my name.”
Allred told The Post that the DA’s Office “explained to us what we already knew and appreciated, which is that the allegations are beyond the statute of limitations.”
“In other words, it is too late to pursue any criminal charges, even if law enforcement felt there was a basis to pursue them,” she said.
Iannucci also said she didn’t plan to file a civil suit over the incident, saying, “I want to move forward.”
At least three other district attorneys — in Albany, Manhattan and Oswego counties — also launched investigations after state Attorney General Letitia James released an Aug. 3 report that accused Cuomo of sexually harassing 11 women, including nine current or former state workers, during his two-plus terms as governor.
In October, Cuomo, 64, was charged with forcible touching, a misdemeanor, for allegedly groping the left breast of then-aide Brittany Commisso, 33, inside Albany’s Executive Mansion, the governor’s official residence, on Dec. 7, 2020.
He’s scheduled to be arraigned in Albany City Court on Jan. 7.
Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing in that incident or any others.
Neither his spokesman nor his defense lawyer immediately returned requests for comment.
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