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Ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his then-top aide, Melissa DeRosa, have been allegedly noticed by a state police bodyguard âmaking out on the sidewalk like high schoolers,â The Post has discovered.
The alleged May-December romance was apparently revealed within the sworn testimony of a feminine state trooper who has accused Cuomo of sexually harassing her and whose interview transcript was launched by Attorney General Letitia James earlier this week.
Although DeRosa isnât recognized as Cuomoâs kissing associate within the 143-page doc, three sources with information of the proceedings mentioned her title is amongst a number of that have been blacked out and changed with job titles, which in her case is âSenior Staffer #1â â the individual with whom the then-governor was allegedly seen canoodling.
The unseemly risk of Cuomo, 63, getting sizzling and heavy with the married DeRosa, 39, emerged in the course of the probe that uncovered proof he sexually harassed 11 girls â together with 9 present or former state staff â whereas serving because the stateâs highest elected official.
Jamesâ Aug. 3 report detailing the avalanche of allegations led Cuomo to resign beneath strain of impeachment per week later and now has him dealing with a misdemeanor cost for allegedly groping the breast of one other aide, 33-year-old Brittany Commisso, inside Albanyâs Executive Mansion, the governorâs official residence.
During a May 19 Zoom interview, the unidentified trooper â who served on Cuomoâs safety element â was requested by an out of doors lawyer employed by James whether or not her colleagues ever mentioned they âobserved anything between the Governorâ and any of his Executive Chamber subordinates, in line with the transcript.
âI 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,â the trooper answered.
âAgain, he told me this. I didnât witness this. I wasnât even here at the time. But thatâs what I had heard.â
When requested by lawyer Anne Clark if sheâd heard âanything else,â the trooper mentioned, âI 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.â
Itâs unclear from the transcript what occasion or motion adopted the time Cuomo and Senior Staffer #1 allegedly spent within the resort room, as all of the obvious references to it are blacked out.
âI had also heard that â again, rumor â I heard that there was a guy named [redacted] here. I donât know how to spell his last name,â the trooper mentioned.
âBut he was driving once and saw Senior Staffer #1 and the Governor like making out. He [Cuomo] was in the front seat. And Senior Staffer #1 was like sitting on the console kissing him.â
The trooper added: âI think everyone kind of like assumes or thinks that thereâs something going on between them.â
Earlier in her interview, the trooper additionally famous that âduring COVID, Senior Staffer #1 and Senior Staffer #2 were basically living at the mansion.â
âThey were there from basically March until that article about the trooper dating [redacted] came out,â she mentioned.
The article in query seems to be an October 2020 Post expose that exposed a trooper whoâd been certainly one of Cuomoâs bodyguards, Dane Pfeiffer, was transferred to a publish close to the Canadian border after he started courting Cuomo daughter Cara Kennedy-Cuomo.
Following its publication, the feminine trooper testified, âSo it was kind of like, I think they were worried that people were going to start documenting or noticing whoâs coming in and out. If theyâre not leaving, you know, theyâre sleeping there.â
âAgain, could they had had their own bedrooms? Of course. But no one knows whatâs going on behind closed doors,â she mentioned.
âI know that they would be up at the pool house in bikinis and bathing suits. I donât really know anyone who stays at their bossâ house like that.â
Cuomo has been single since September 2019, when he and longtime girlfriend Sandra Lee, the TV cooking present star, announced theyâd damaged up after 14 years collectively.
Five former staffers later informed The Post they believed Cuomo was concerned with or pursued a number of feminine aides whereas dwelling with Lee, 55, with one saying that his dishonest on her âwas an open secret.â
Last month, The Post solely reported that DeRosa had cut up from husband Matt Wing, 38, after 5 years of marriage, with one supply saying, âThey simply grew apart, and they have been living apart for a year.â
DeRosa and Wing confirmed their impending divorce in a joint assertion that mentioned, âDespite the fact that this chapter in our lives is ending, we are and always will be very close friends.â
During a heated July 17 interview that was additionally a part of the probe James commissioned, Cuomo was requested if it ever occurred that he and DeRosa â once more recognized as âSenior Staffer #1â â kissed one another on the lips, in line with the official transcript.
âIt may have,â Cuomo mentioned.
âI donât recall doing it, having a kiss on the lips with her.â
When pressed to clarify why âit may have happened,â Cuomo mentioned, âMostly there are different events.â
âYou know, I was at her wedding. So sometimes thereâs different social functions. But I donât remember that, no,â he mentioned.
âOkay. But it may have happened?â requested lawyer Joon Kim, a former appearing Manhattan US legal professional.
âIt may have happened,â Cuomo mentioned.
Cuomo attended DeRosa and Wingâs August 27, 2016, nuptials on the swank Sagamore Resort on Lake Georgeâs Green Island and made a toast congratulating the newlyweds, a supply who attended informed The Post.
The 515-page transcript of Cuomoâs grilling doesnât present that he was requested concerning the alleged resort room incident or about his staffers having stayed on the Executive Mansion amid the pandemic.
In a ready assertion, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi denied that Cuomo had a âromantic relationshipâ with DeRosa and attacked James, who lately introduced sheâs operating for governor.
âThe 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,â he mentioned.
âMultiple people have testified under oath that the Governor did not have a romantic relationship with any staffer and the AGâs continued weaponization of this report for her own political gain is even more evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.â
In a press release, DeRosa additionally mentioned: âAs a young woman who has worked at the highest levels of government and politics, Iâm used to other people making up and spreading rumors about me.â
âAm I Senior Staffer #1? I have no idea â youâd have to ask the AGâs office, but the things this person says is flat-out false,â DeRosa added.
âItâs beyond the pale for this trooper, who by her own admission I barely knew â who has already attempted to extort me for money â to make these accusations based on false rumors and for them to be printed in a newspaper. Not only is this ludicrous, itâs hurtful, and potentially actionable.â
DeRosa didnât elaborate on the alleged extortion try however mentioned the trooper was represented by lawyer Douglas Wigdor.
Lawyer Valdi Licul, a associate at Wigdorâs agency, mentioned, âThe investigative report and our clientâs testimony speak for themselves.â
âIt is unfortunate that Ms. DeRosa has chosen to retaliate against a victim of sexual harassment by falsely accusing her of extortion,â Licul mentioned.
âWe thank the media in advance for continuing to respect our clientâs privacy at this time.â
Jamesâ workplace declined to remark.
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