NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple defended his department's "comprehensive" investigation that led to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's forcible touching misdemeanor charge.
Apple acknowledged to reporters Friday that the quick turnaround leading to Cuomo's criminal charge was not what he had expected.
"We got sandbagged ourselves and I kind of felt bad about the way it all happened, but the way that it went down has nothing to do with the case," he said. "The case is a very solid case. We have great information that was obtained. We met our burn as far as probable cause and we have filed."
Cuomo was charged Thursday for allegedly groping an aide on the second floor of the Executive Mansion in December 2021.
While Cuomo has continued to deny any wrongdoing, he resigned in August, following Attorney General Letitia James' independent report which concluded that he had sexually harassed 11 women.
Though the criminal complaint did not name the victim, former Cuomo aide Brittany Commisso made a similar claim against him and filed her complaint with the Sheriff's Office in August.
After Apple's news conference, Cuomo's attorney Rita Glavin released a new statement knocking him for his "his professed objectivity."
"The Governor did not assault Ms. Commisso on November 16, November 25, some day in November when she was tasked with taking a photograph, December 7, or any other date," Glavin said.
"What Sheriff Apple did not say today is that the allegation is totally uncorroborated, and has been evolving since March," she added. "What Sheriff Apple did say about doing a 'separate' investigation from the DA, with 'our victim,' speaks volumes about his professed objectivity. ... We expect clear-headed people will make better decisions going forward, but should this case move forward we are prepared to vigorously defend the Governor and challenge every aspect of the specious, inconsistent and uncorroborated allegations made against him."
Apple said investigators worked over the course of nearly four months to conduct a "thoughtful investigation," administering several search warrants and interviewing numerous witnesses.
"As a result of all that information the [criminal] packet was sent down to Albany City Court for review ... normally [it] takes a little bit of time," he said. "This came back at an accelerated rate — kind of took us by surprise as well."
The sheriff then said the criminal complaint was released by the media and posted online.
Apple said he would have liked to discuss the case with Albany District Attorney David Soares and Glavin.
While Soares said he was "surprised "by the charge filed, Glavin accused Apple of "patently improper" motives Thursday.
"Sheriff Apple didn’t even tell the District Attorney what he was doing. But Apple’s behavior is no surprise given (1) his August 7 press conference where he essentially pronounced the Governor guilty before doing an investigation, and (2) his Office’s leaking of grand jury information. This is not professional law enforcement; this is politics."
Cuomo's spokesperson, Rich Azzopardi, has repeatedly criticized James and Apple who he said was the "fruit of the poisonous tree.”
"Tish James abused her office to falsely accuse Governor Cuomo because she was afraid to confront him in an election and let the people decide," he said. "Apple is only regurgitating her sham report, and has no corroborating evidence whatsoever of a crime. In this case, Apple is literally [the] fruit of the poisonous tree."
Apple said Friday he would rather take criticism than the victim, though he did not want to distract from their "solid" investigation.
"I'm not really concerned about that," he added. "we have a solid case. Our investigative staff did a marvelous job."
Along with his Nov. 17 first court appearance, Cuomo will be fingerprinted and have a mugshot before he is expected to be released on his own recognize, Apple explained.
The crime is punishable by up to a year in jail, if convicted.
Apple said the goal for the investigation is not to put Cuomo in jail, rather "seek justice" for the victim.
“I don’t have a goal,’’ he added. “My goal isn’t to throw Andrew Cuomo in jail. Again, we investigated the complaint, we have a victim, and, and the goal is for her to seek justice. That’s exactly what she’s doing. She’s been with us every step of the way.
Related
Related
