DA: Criminal complaint against Cuomo 'potentially defective'

ALBANY — The case of forcible touching against former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has been adjourned until Jan. 7 after the Albany County district attorney criticized the complaint brought by the sheriff’s department as "potentially defective."

The court’s decision means Cuomo won’t face a court appearance as early as Nov. 17, according to a spokeswoman for Albany County District Attorney David Soares on Friday.

Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple announced on Oct. 29 that he had an "overwhelming amount of evidence" to issue his criminal complaint against Cuomo. The complaint accuses Cuomo of groping a then-administration staffer's breast and buttocks while in the governor’s mansion in December.

The allegation was part of an Aug. 3 report by state Attorney General Letitia James that concluded that Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women. Cuomo has denied sexually harassing anyone, but resigned Aug. 24 as he faced potential impeachment.

An Albany City Court judge granted the adjournment after a letter dated Thursday from District Attorney David Soares, according to Soares’ spokeswoman, Cecilia Walsh. Soares said his office has been investigating the matter "for months."

"We were in the middle of that investigation when the sheriff unilaterally and inexplicably filed a complaint in this court," Soares stated in the letter to City Court Judge Holly Trexler.

Soares told the judge that errors made by Apple "risk of a procedural dismissal of this case."

The sheriff didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Soares said the sheriff’s department failed to include a sworn statement by the victim, that a portion of the transcript used to bring the complaint failed to include a signed oath by the woman, and that it "excluded other portions of her testimony" and "misstates the relevant law."

Soares said he needs more time to fix what he called errors by the sheriff, which required more time beyond speedy-trial requirements.

Cuomo’s attorney, Michael McDermott, agreed to delay further court action until Jan. 7.

"While we previously received some materials from the [state Attorney General’s] Office, since the filing in this case we have received hundreds of hours of videotaped testimony that must be reviewed and provided to the defendant," Soares said, referring to Cuomo. "We anticipate receiving many other materials that are not yet in our actual possession."

A footnote to Soares’ letter said the victim's testimony that was excluded from the complaint was recently provided to Cuomo’s lawyers "due to its exculpatory nature," which means it could be used to help Cuomo’s case. The footnote does not cite specifics of what that testimony involved.

Rita Glavin, one of Cuomo's attorneys, and his spokesman Rich Azzopardi have criticized the case brought by the county Sheriff’s Department, contending it was brought in haste and failed to inform Cuomo or the woman who accused him of the filing of the complaint. The Albany County complaint corresponds with details that Brittany Commisso, a former Cuomo aide, provided in an interview with CBS News and in interviews she gave to state investigators.

Azzopardi had no immediate comment Friday.

By Michael Gormley

michael.gormley@newsday.com@GormleyAlbany

Michael Gormley has worked for Newsday since 2013, covering state government, politics and issues. He has covered Albany since 2001.