Andrew Cuomo leaves Il Postino dining establishment in Manhattan, New York City on Monday, December 19, 2022.
Gardiner Anderson|New York Daily News|Getty Images
Former New YorkGov Andrew Cuomo subjected a minimum of 13 females to a “sexually hostile work environment” while he remained in workplace, the Department of Justice stated Friday as part of a contract with the state’s existing executive workplace.
Cuomo “repeatedly subjected these female employees to unwelcome, non-consensual sexual contact; ogling; unwelcome sexual comments; gender-based nicknames; comments on their physical appearances; and/or preferential treatment based on their physical appearances,” the DOJ stated it discovered.
The guv’s workplace under Cuomo learnt about his conduct however stopped working to successfully stop it, the DOJ concluded from the examination it introduced in August 2021, the exact same month Cuomo resigned amidst installing unwanted sexual advances accusations.
Cuomo’s workplace rather worked to secure the then-governor from more allegations– and his senior personnel struck back versus 4 of the females he pestered, the DOJ stated.
Cuomo lawyer Rita Glavin in a declaration to CNBC stated the previous guv “did not sexually harass anyone.”
“The DOJ ‘investigation’ was based entirely on the NYS Attorney General’s deeply flawed, inaccurate, biased, and misleading report,” Glavin stated.
That report, launchedAug 3, 2021, discovered that Cuomo sexually pestered a minimum of 11 females and struck back versus a minimum of one previous staff member who stepped forward to implicate him.
“At no point did DOJ even contact Governor Cuomo concerning these matters,” Glavin statedFriday “This is nothing more than a political settlement with no investigation.”
The DOJ exposed its findings as it revealed a contract to solve its claims that Cuomo’s workplace “engaged in a pattern or practice of sexual harassment and retaliation” in infraction of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
The DOJ stated the arrangement with the State of New York Executive Chamber, presently led byGov Kathy Hochul, memorializes reforms she has actually currently performed and devotes the workplace to enacting extra modifications.
The arrangement likewise keeps in mind that, in “consideration” for the executive chamber participating in the arrangement, the DOJ is avoiding submitting a grievance on its accusations.
Hochul in a declaration stated that when she took workplace, she “took immediate action” to “root out the culture of harassment that had previously plagued the Executive Chamber and implement strong policies to promote a safe workplace for all employees.”
“I am pleased that the U.S. Department of Justice has acknowledged the significance of those efforts, and look forward to partnering with them as we continue to build upon that success,” Hochul stated.
Cuomo’s spokesperson, Rich Azzopardi, kept in mind to CNBC that the arrangement states it does not consist of a “finding on the merits of the case.”
In a different declaration, Azzopardi recommended that Breon Peace, the U.S. lawyer who validated the arrangement, had a dispute of interest since he was the law partner of Joon Kim, who led the New York chief law officer’s 2021 examination of Cuomo.
“This isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on, and it’s ironic that Gov. Hochul, who herself is being accused of retaliation, signed off on it,” Azzopardi stated.
But Mariann Wang, a lawyer for Alyssa McGrath and Virginia Limmiatis, 2 females Cuomo apparently pestered, commemorated the arrangement.
“We are pleased the US Attorney’s office and the Executive Chamber have taken serious steps to ensure nothing like the abuse Cuomo engaged in will happen again,” Wang stated in a declaration.
“We hope these measures have real impact and prevent the kind of repeated abuse of power that resulted in so much harm to so many women,” Wang stated.
