NY attorney general probe to interview latest Cuomo sex-harass accuser
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The married mom-of-three who has accused Gov. Andrew Cuomo of forcibly kissing her during a tour of her flood-damaged home will meet next week with investigators from the state attorney general’s office, The Post has learned.
Sherry Vill, 55, spoke out Monday, becoming the latest in a series of women to allege sexual harassment or misconduct at the hands of Cuomo since late February.
“I did reach out to the investigators from the AG’s office yesterday,” Gloria Allred, Vill’s attorney, told The Post on Tuesday. “I sent them a letter informing them that my client, Ms. Vill, would be willing to be interviewed by them. … Today that interview was confirmed for next Monday.”
The office of state Attorney General Letitia James declined comment.
Vill alleges that in May 2017, Cuomo grabbed her face and kissed her on both cheeks in “a highly sexual manner” during a visit to her flood-damaged home in Greece, NY.
Cuomo kissed Vill both inside and outside her home, including in view of her son, who was recording the visit and caught the contact on camera, Vill alleges.
“I know the difference between an innocent gesture and a sexual one,” she said Monday. “I never felt as uncomfortable as I did the day that Gov. Cuomo came to my home. His actions were very overly sexual, highly inappropriate and disrespectful to me and my family.”
Days after the meeting, a member of Cuomo’s staff invited Vill to attend an event with the governor, an offer to which Vill did not respond.
And months later, she received in the mail a signed letter from the governor, along with photos of Cuomo shaking her hand.
Both the event invitation and the letter were directed specifically to Vill, though Cuomo had also met her husband and son during the visit, Vill noted.
Cuomo had previously been accused of inappropriate remarks or physical contact by nine other women — most of them current or former staffers — spurring multiple investigations.
While Vill has now committed to an interview with the probe organized by James’ office, Allred indicated Monday that she and Vill had no plans to reach out to a separate state Assembly probe being conducted as a prelude to possible impeachment proceedings.
“I have had no contact with investigators from the New York Assembly, or with Governor Cuomo or anyone from his staff,” Allred said Tuesday.
While admitting to and apologizing for inappropriate workplace comments, Cuomo has strongly denied allegations of inappropriate physical contact.
With respect to Vill’s allegations, Rita Glavin, Cuomo’s lawyer, issued a statement Monday noting that the governor “has frequently sought to comfort New Yorkers with hugs and kisses.
“As I have said before, the Governor has greeted both men and women with hugs, a kiss on the cheek, forehead or hand for the past forty years,” added Glavin.
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