“As for the conviction … it will really be decided by the jury, the judge and the district attorney’s office,” Albany Sheriff Craig Apple told a news conference Friday. (Hans Pennink / AP) AP
NOVA SCOTLAND, NY – Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple says the publication of a criminal complaint against former Gov. Andrew Cuom “killed” him, but he said it doesn’t hurt the chances he described as a “solid case”.
“We have a huge amount of evidence. We have a victim who was fully involved every day, at every turn, “Apple said at Friday’s briefing.” As for the conviction … it will really be up to the jury, the judge and the district attorney. ”
Misdemeanor complaint he was released on Thursday on charges of forcibly touching Cuoma. These are allegations that the former governor groped former employee Brittany Commisso at the Executive Mansion in Albany last year.
The first news of the appeal caused a great deal of confusion. Some reports Thursday afternoon say Cuomo was arrested immediately, while others say the complaint was made by mistake.
Apple said he was confused too
The standard procedure in such a case involves submitting information to the court and waiting for court officials to review it before the charge, he said. This “usually takes a little time.”
But this time it took “five to 10 minutes” before a complaint was filed and word began to flow.
“We didn’t expect such a quick return, nor did we expect everything to be posted online,” Apple said. “I would like to … have [had] a deeper conversation with the district attorney, I would like to turn to him [Rita] Glavin, Cuom’s lawyer, and explains what was going on. Needless to say, the document has been published. ”
“In a way, we were in sandbags and somehow I feel bad about how it happened,” he said.
Apple has repeatedly said that the unexpected introduction does not affect the quality of the allegations: “The case is a solid case, our victim is cooperating and we are moving forward,” he said.
The sheriff also noted that the law firm Davis Polk, which the assembly retained in the investigation of the charge against Cuom, was “very valuable property.” The sheriff’s investigators and the company “exchanged some information back and forth.”
Cuoma spokesman Rich Azzopardi noted the presence of an investigation by Attorney General and Gov. James Governor’s nominee on the former governor on a list of evidence to be brought by Apple.
“Tish James abused her position to falsely accuse Governor Cuom for fear of confronting him in the election and letting people decide,” Azzopardi said. “Apple is just summarizing its fake report and has no evidence of a crime. In this case, the apple is literally the fruit of a poisonous tree. “
“It’s a very good word game,” Apple replied. “They’d rather throw it at me than victimize victims over and over again.”