Sexual assault allegations against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Eric Adams, and other public figures in New York have come flooding in as a state law eliminating the statute of limitations to sue for such crimes is set to expire.
Cuomo, who is being charged with abusing his former executive assistant, Brittany Commisso, under the Adult Survivors Act, is battling a number of allegations that drove him out of the governor's mansion and opened the door to his former lieutenant, Kathy Hochul, to ascend to the state's top elected post. According to the suit, Commisso alleges that while she worked in the Executive Chamber, Cuomo subjected her to "humiliating and demeaning tasks, hugs, kisses, sexual touching of the buttocks and forcible touching of the breast." She had previously accused Cuomo of groping her, an allegation that also led to a criminal complaint.
According to Commisso's suit, filed in Albany Supreme Court, Cuomo began a campaign of retaliation against her after she rejected his sexual entreaties. She charges that she was demoted by Hochul after reporting the abuse and was reassigned to "the demeaning task of answering telephones in the Lieutenant Governor's office until moved to other offices." She said she also lost out on overtime pay, was "given little or no work," and was subsequently ostracized by her co-workers. Her career opportunities henceforth suffered, her suit alleges.
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Responding to the suit, Adams said, "It did not happen. That's not who I am. That's not who I am in my professional life. It's just something that never took place."
Cuomo's lawyer, Rita Glavin, characterized the suit against the disgraced governor as a money grab. "Ms. Commisso's claims are provably false, which is why the Albany District Attorney dismissed the case two years ago after a thorough investigation," Glavin said. "Ms. Commisso's transparent attempt at a cash grab will fail. We look forward to seeing her in court."
New York taxpayers are on the hook to the tune of $20 million so far to cover Cuomo's legal expenses since he was a state official at the time, according to a court ruling. The state, as well as Cuomo's special counsel Judith Mogul, are also named for aiding and abetting Commisso's mistreatment and demotion, court papers say.
The Survivor's Act, which opened the door to legal action regardless of how old the claims are, also ensnared former President Donald Trump, who was convicted of sexually abusing advice columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996. A jury awarded her $5 million in a case that is being appealed. Rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs was also accused of sexual misconduct by three women as the deadline neared, as were Guns and Roses rocker Axl Rose, actors Jamie Foxx and Cuba Gooding Jr., celebrity photographer Terry Richardson, and music executive L.A. Reid, among others. Lawsuits for allegations stretching back decades have put enormous financial strain on the Catholic Church.