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Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo will get his mug shot taken and be fingerprinted next month — when he faces “an overwhelming amount of evidence against him” in court, authorities said Friday.
“He will be arraigned, he will be fingerprinted,” Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple told The Post of Cuomo’s Nov. 17 court date involving the misdemeanor criminal charge against him for allegedly grabbing a female ex-aide’s breast.
“He will be photographed and … [presumably] he will be released on his own recognizance,” Apple said of the disgraced ex-governor.
If Cuomo fails to appear in court, “You could have a criminal arrest warrant issued,” Apple added at a press conference Friday.
Apple’s office filed the criminal complaint against Cuomo in Albany City Court on Thursday — with the sheriff calling the case “solid” at the briefing.
Apple said his office conducted “a very comprehensive and methodical investigation.”
The Albany County sheriff also told The Post that the former governor’s lawyer questioned Apple’s ethics by snidely asking when the official was “up for re-election.
“We had one of our counsel reach out to [Cuomo’s lawyer] to inform her of what went down and what the next steps are, and she asked … ‘When’s the sheriff up for re-election?’ ” Apple said, referring to the former governor’s attorney, Rita Glavin.
“I’m assuming [Glavin asked that] because then she can just play, you know, that, ‘You know what, this is a publicity grab,’ ” the sheriff said.
“I don’t know, and I don’t care,’’ the sheriff said of Glavin’s alleged remarks. “The reality is, I’ve got two years left on my term, and I don’t need something like this … to run for re-election or not run for re-election.
“That’s the game that … some people like to play. They like to dirty up the cops and the investigators and the victims and try to … absolve their client, but you know what? We’re not falling for it,” Apple said.
The rap against Cuomo could land him a year behind bars if convicted.
The charge — filed by the sheriff’s office because that’s where the ex-aide lodged her complaint in August — claims Cuomo, 63, “did intentionally, and for no legitimate purpose, forcibly place his hand under the blouse shirt of the victim … and onto her intimate body part.”
The former administrative assistant was not named in the court document, but her lawyer has identified her as 33-year-old Brittany Commisso, one of a slew of Cuomo sex-harassment accusers.
Commisso’s lawyer, Brian Premo, told The Post in a text Thursday that his client “was surprised by the turn of events but she has been and will remain a resolute cooperating victim in pursuit of blind justice.”
Apple said Friday that Commisso was well aware of what was going on.
Still, even the county district attorney’s office has claimed it didn’t know the charge would be filed Thursday.
Prosecutors could still decide not to pursue the criminal case, although Apple said he doesn’t think that is likely.
“I haven’t ruled anything out. But I don’t think that would happen,’’ he said.
“You know, it’s up to the DA if they want to file their own charge. I mean, there’s a charge in the court system, and that needs to be dealt with.
“I don’t know if there’ll be a plea,’’ the sheriff said.
“I don’t have a goal,’’ he added. “My goal isn’t to throw Andrew Cuomo in jail. Again, we investigated the complaint, we have a victim, and, and the goal is for her to seek justice. That’s exactly what she’s doing. She’s been with us every step of the way.
“At the end of the day, we have a victim, and our job is to take the complaint investigated and move forward. And that’s what we’ve done.”
Glavin fired back to The Post, “I most certainly did question the credibility of [Apple’s] investigation and so should you.
“Credible investigations don’t involve holding press conferences in which investigators essentially pronounce someone’s guilt before any meaningful investigation, and credible investigations involve consultation with the DA’s office before lodging criminal charges,” she said.
Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi added that Apple was nothing more than a “cowboy sheriff.”
“Law and politics are totally separate, and this is a toxic intersection of the two,’’ Azzopardi said.
“Tish James used her office to attack the governor for her own political benefit and she violated the law in the process,’’ he said, referring to the New York attorney general whose office issued a scathing report on Cuomo’s alleged harassment.
“Sheriff Apple, who has been a political opponent of the governor’s since the passage of the SAFE Act, is seeking headlines and not justice and his misconduct is undeniable,’’ the statement added, noting the gun safety law backed by Cuomo while he was in office.
“New Yorker’s aren’t stupid and none of this passes the laugh test. This isn’t the wild west: the abuse of power and misconduct demonstrated by this cowboy sheriff and AG James is transparent and it has to stop.”
Cuomo has denied any allegation of misconduct.
Additional reporting by Kate Sheehy
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