Andrew Cuomo and ex-top aide Melissa DeRosa were 'spotted making out on the sidewalk like high schoolers', former NY Gov's sex pest accuser claims: DeRosa (who's divorcing her husband) issues furious denial
- The romance between the sex pest former governor and DeRosa is allegedly revealed in Attorney General Letitia James' questioning of the state trooper
- DeRosa is not identified by name but sources said that hers is among several names blacked out and replaced with their position in the administration
- The unidentified trooper who worked security for Cuomo was asked by a lawyer if she'd ever seen anything happen between him and senior staff
- 'I had heard from Senior Investigator #1 that he once witnessed [Cuomo] and [DeRosa] like making out on the sidewalk like they were high schoolers'
A female state trooper who accused deposed ex-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment also alleged that he had been 'making out' like high schoolers with his top aide, Melissa DeRosa.
The romance between the sex pest former governor and DeRosa is allegedly revealed in Attorney General Letitia James' questioning of the state trooper.
The latest rumor was shared eight months after photos of Cuomo and DeRosa looking very cozy at a Manhattan restaurant resurfaced.
DeRosa is not identified by name but sources said that hers is among several names blacked out and replaced with their position in the administration. In DeRosa's case, 'Senior Staffer #1.'
The unidentified trooper who worked security for Cuomo was asked by a member of James' team if she'd ever seen anything happen between Cuomo and his senior staff.
'I had heard from Senior Investigator #1 that he once witnessed the Governor and Senior Staffer #1 like making out on the sidewalk like they were high schoolers,' the trooper responded. 'Again, he told me this. I didn't witness this. I wasn't even here at the time. But that's what I had heard.'
Melissa DeRosa, seen looking cozy at a restaurant with boss former Governor Andrew Cuomo at the Knickerbocker Inn in Manhattan in September of 2016
DeRosa (pictured left) was often seen at Cuomo's side during his COVID-19 press conferences
DeRosa seen in August arriving at her parents house before moving to a new residence
DeRosa, seen here with estranged husband Matthew Wing. The two were reported to be divorcing a month ago
The trooper continued: 'I think everyone kind of like assumes or thinks that there's something going on between them.'
She was asked if she'd heard anything further: 'I heard a rumor that before Senior Staffer #1 [redacted] that the Governor and her were in a hotel room by themselves for like an hour. And then one of the two left the room.'
The trooper also said that during the early parts of COVID-19 lockdowns, the two staffers in question were 'basically living' at the governor's mansion.
She also claimed that the staffers would bring 'bikinis and bathing suits' to the residence.
'I don't really know anyone who stays at their boss' house like that.'
During an interview with James, Cuomo refused to deny that he had kissed DeRosa on the lips.
'It may have,' Cuomo said. 'I don't recall doing it, having a kiss on the lips with her.'
'You know, I was at her wedding,' he added. 'So sometimes there's different social functions. But I don't remember that, no,' he said.
'Okay. But it may have happened?' asked a lawyer on James' investigative team.
The trooper said that DeRosa and one other staffer basically 'lived' at the governor's mansion early on during lockdown
The revelations come from interviews with Cuomo and the staffers with Attorney General Letitia James' (pictured) investigative team. James has since announced a run for Cuomo's old job
'It may have happened,' Cuomo responded.
James' report, released August 3, detailed several allegations against Cuomo, 63, which forced him to resign under threat of impeachment a week later.
He also faces a misdemeanor charged for alleged groping of another aide, 33-year-old Brittany Commisso.
Former staffers previously told the New York Post that Cuomo either was dating or pursuing female aides while living with ex-girlfriend Sandra Lee was 'an open secret.'
DeRosa was revealed to be separating from Matt Wing, her husband of five years, last month.
DeRosa and Wing confirmed their impending divorce in a joint state that said, 'Despite the fact that this chapter in our lives is ending, we are and always will be very close friends.'
Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi vehemently denied any romance between DeRosa and Cuomo in a statement.
'The fact that Tish James included these completely false bottom of the barrel rumors in her selectively released, partially redacted transcripts says more about her character and motivations than anything else,' he said.
Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi denied the reports and heavily criticized James in a statement Friday
Cuomo's senior spokesman Rich Azzopardi
DeRosa herself denied the accusations in a tweet and a statement Friday
Azzopardi has been a consistent critic of James' investigation.
'Multiple people have testified under oath that the Governor did not have a romantic relationship with any staffer and the AG's continued weaponization of this report for her own political gain is even more evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.'
Since the report was released, James has announced a primary challenge to Cuomo's successor and current Governor Kathy Hochul in 2022.
DeRosa denied the accusations herself in a statement Friday.
'As a young woman who has worked at the highest levels of government and politics, I'm used to other people making up and spreading rumors about me,' she said. 'Am I senior staffer #1? I have no idea – you'd have to ask the AG's office, but the things this person says is flat out false,' DeRosa added.
She then suggested she might take legal action against the unidentified trooper.
'It's beyond the pale for this trooper, who by her own admission I barely knew — who has already attempted to extort me for money — to make these accusations based on false rumors and for them to be printed in a newspaper. Not only is this ludicrous, it's hurtful, and potentially actionable.'
James' office has yet to respond to a request for comment.
The majority of the allegations that James said amounted to serial sexual harassment were non-physical.
One of them applied to a nurse who gave the governor his first on-camera COVID-19 test.
He told her she made the 'gown look good', which James considered sexual harassment.
Others said Cuomo asked them about their boyfriends - which he admits - and that he 'clearly' insinuated wanting to sleep with them, but never did.
Cuomo fight the claims, resisting an Albany impeachment proceeding and pushing on with the COVID governance he was revered for at the start of the year, before eventually bowing out.
Since resigning, he has made few public statements aside from to bash James and her report, which he says is all politically motivated.
The allegations of sexual misconduct peppered the final year of his ten year governorship.
He got the job after his predecessor, Elliot Spitzer, resigned in shame having been caught patronizing a prostitution service.
Cuomo always denied that he was a sex pest and said at worst, he made inappropriate comments and jokes as an affectionate Italian man, like his father was.
The sexual misconduct allegations came at the same time as claims of gross negligence stemming from Cuomo's order to send thousands of COVID-19 positive elderly people back into New York nursing homes, a decision which many say proved fatal.
Not only did those infected patients infect others and lead to more deaths, critics say Cuomo's administration also tried to cover it up by deliberately skewing COVID deaths numbers.
For months, his administration reported the deaths of people who contracted COVID in nursing homes as 'hospital deaths' because they had died in hospitals.
He was only reporting nursing home deaths for people who contracted COVID in the nursing home and died in the nursing home.
His administration says it was an innocent error in numbers reporting.
Cuomo's political enemies seized on that scandal and the sexual misconduct claims, both of which were made even more irresistible when he released a smug memoir last October in the height of the second wave, titled Lessons in Leadership.
Cuomo was panned for writing the self-congratulatory book at a time when dozens of people were still dying every day in the state.
The women who accused Gov Andrew Cuomo of harassment
Lindsay Boylan, 36
Former aide Lindsay Boylan, 36, was the first woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment in a Medium post on February 24. She claimed that the governor asked her to play strip poker and kissed her on the lips without her permission when she worked for him in 2017.
Lindsay Boylan, 36
Charlotte Bennett, 25
Charlotte Bennett, 25, came forward a few days after Boylan and claimed that Cuomo sexually harassed her last June while she was working as a health policy adviser in his administration at the height of the COVID-19 crisis.
Bennett accused Cuomo of 'grooming' her and asking inappropriate questions about her sex life.
She also claimed that he told her he was open to dating women in their 20s.
BENNETT said the governor asked her about her love life - including whether she ever had sex with older men - and talked about his own, saying that age differences didn't matter in relationships and he was open to dating women over 22.
During a meeting alone in his office, the governor said he was lonely and talked about wanting to hug someone, Bennett said.
She said she swiftly complained to Cuomo's chief of staff and was transferred to another job.
She said she spoke to a lawyer for the governor, but didn´t insist on further action because she liked her new post and wanted to move on.
Charlotte Bennett, 25
Anna Ruch, 33
Anna Ruch was the third woman to accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment and the only one thus far who did not work with him in a professional capacity. She claimed that Cuomo put his hands on her face and asked if he could kiss her just moments after they met at a September 2019 wedding in Manhattan.
Anna Ruch, 33
Ana Liss, 35
Ana Liss, 35, a former aide, said Cuomo asked her whether she had a boyfriend, once kissed her hand at her desk and called her by patronizing names, including 'blondie,' 'sweetheart' and 'honey.'
At a reception, the governor hugged her then put his arm around her lower back and waist as they posed for photo, Liss said.
She said she eventually asked for a job transfer. In an interview, Liss said she was 'not claiming sexual harassment per se,' but felt the administration 'wasn't a safe space for young women to work.'
Liss, who previously served as Cuomo's policy and operations aide between 2013 and 2015, told the Wall Street Journal that during her time in his administration, the governor had subjected her to unsolicited advances, including touching her lower back, kissing her hand and quizzing her about her love life.
Ana Liss, 35
Karen Hinton, 62
The oldest allegations against Cuomo came from Karen Hinton, who served as a press aide for him when he led the US Department of Housing and Urban Development two decades ago and she was a consultant for the agency. Hinton told the Washington Post about a 2000 incident when she said Cuomo summoned her to his 'dimly lit' hotel room and embraced her after a work event. She said she tried to pull away from Cuomo when he pulled her back and held her before she managed to escape the room.
Karen Hinton, 62
Unnamed sixth accuser
The most damning allegations leveled against Cuomo to date came from a sixth accuser, whose name has not been released.
The accuser, who is a member of Cuomo's staff, alleged that he closed a door, reached under her blouse and fondled her after summoning her to the governor's mansion in Albany for help with his cellphone, according to the Times Union of Albany.
It first reported on her accusation last month; she then gave more detail in her first interview on the matter, published Wednesday.
The woman spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect her privacy, although her identity is known within the governor´s circle, the Times Union reported.
The woman, an executive assistant, told the Times Union the governor gave her kisses on the cheek and inappropriately tight hugs for years and made remarks including, 'If you were single, the things that I would do to you' and 'I'm single and ready to mingle.'
Then, one day in November, she was summoned to his Executive Mansion office to help him with a cellphone problem, she said.
He got up from his desk, started groping her and told her 'I don't care' after she tried to deflect him by saying he was going to get them into trouble, and then he slammed the door, she said.
Then he reached under her blouse and clutched one of her breasts over her bra, she told the newspaper.
The woman told a colleague this winter about the alleged encounter, and the co-worker told a supervisor in early March, according to the newspaper.
Cuomo called the report 'gut-wrenching' in a March statement and said: 'I have never done anything like this.'
Another female aide, who has remained anonymous, claimed he called her to his Executive Mansion last year, reached under her blouse and fondled her
Jessica Bakeman
Jessica Bakeman claimed in a first-person article for New York Magazine that she was sexually harassed by Cuomo on several occasions since the start of her journalism career in 2012.
Bakeman added her voice as the seventh accuser as she detailed inappropriate touching by the governor as he continued to deny all of the claims.
'He took my hand, as if to shake it, then refused to let go,' Bakeman wrote of an interaction with Cuomo as she said goodnight at a holiday party in 2014 when she was only 25 years old.
'He put his other arm around my back, his hand on my waist, and held me firmly in place while indicating to a photographer he wanted us to pose for a picture.'
At the time Bakeman had been working for what is now Politico New York and claimed that red flags went up as her 'job was to analyze and scrutinize him'.
'I didn't want a photo of him with his hands on my body and a smile on my face,' she wrote.
Jessica Bakeman, a reporter who once covered the Cuomo administration, was the seventh woman to come forward with claims of harassment
'But I made the reflexive assessment that most women and marginalized people know instinctively, the calculation about risk and power and self-preservation. I knew it would be far easier to smile for the brief moment it takes to snap a picture than to challenge one of the most powerful men in the country.'
In an earlier 2012 incident while she was working for USA Today, Bakeman also claims that Cuomo kept her pinned to his side as he told a story to her male colleagues.
'He left it there, and kept me pinned next to him, for several minutes as he finished telling his story,' she said. 'I stood there, my cheeks hot, giggling nervously as my male colleagues did the same. We all knew it was wrong, but we did nothing.'
The reporter, who now works in Florida, claimed that Cuomo 'never let me forget I was a woman' as she also alleged that he made frequent attempts to humiliate her, including calling out her purple phone instead of answering her question during a press gaggle.
Alyssa McGrath, 33
McGrath, a current administrative assistant in Cuomo's office, told The New York Times that he looked down her shirt, quizzed her about her marital status, and told her she was beautiful, using an Italian phrase she had to ask her parents to interpret.
McGrath didn't say the governor made sexual contact with her but thought his behavior was sexual harassment.
She recalled Cuomo kissing her on the forehead and gripping her firmly around the sides while posing for a photo at a 2019 office Christmas party.
Alyssa McGrath (pictured) is one of two aides who have come forward to accuse the governor of harassment
Sherry Vill, 55
Sherry Vill, 55, accused Cuomo of sexual misconduct during a press conference with her attorney Gloria Allred on Monday.
She alleges Cuomo grabbed her face and kissed her 'aggressively and in a sexual manner' on both cheeks in May 2017 while he was touring her home in Greece, near Rochester, as he inspected local flood damage.
Vill, who said she felt uncomfortable at the time, shared an image her daughter took on the day that showed Cuomo holding her face as he kissed her cheek and her attorney held up multiple photos showing the Governor inside her home.
The same photos appear on Cuomo's Flickr account, as well as multiple others that show him kissing and greeting residents as he toured the town.
None of the women in the other photos have accused the governor of inappropriate behavior or wrongdoing.
Sherry Vill, 55, accused Cuomo of sexual misconduct on Monday. Vill, who said she felt uncomfortable at the time, shared an image her daughter took on the day that showed Cuomo holding her face as he kissed her cheek
