A settlement was reached between New York State and one of the women who accused former Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual assault. The case involving Brittany Commisso, a former executive assistant, will be dismissed with a plea deal and a $450,000 settlement.
The agreement calls for Commisso not to work for the governor’s office until at least 2030 and for the amount paid by New York State to be divided equally between the woman and her lawyers. Cuomo’s attorneys, however, disagree, claiming that the former aide sought the plea deal to avoid testifying under oath, thus alluding to the possibility that Commisso perjured himself.
“The agreement is not a vindication. It is a capitulation to avoid the truth,” charged Cuomo’s attorneys Rita Glavin and Theresa Trzaskoma.
Commisso alleges that in December 2020, after being called into the Executive Mansion for an official meeting, Cuomo opened her shirt and groped one of her breasts. In addition, the former aide also sued the Hochul administration for reducing her work hours and continually changing her duties after the former governor resigned in 2021.
This complaint is compiled in an official document, signed by state prosecutor Letitia James, which concludes that the former governor sexually abused eleven women in total. Of those, another case, involving Charlotte Bennett, was similarly dismissed with a plea deal and a $450,000 settlement.
Cuomo has always denied all charges, but in 2021 in the face of intense pressure he retired from the governor’s office and from the political scene in general. Today he is back and this week relaunched his candidacy for mayor of New York in November’s local elections.
