Andrew Cuomo, an associate of the New York government, told The New York Times that Cuomo had bewitched her and made inappropriate remarks – the latest accusation of sexual harassment against a governor who is already facing bilingual calls for resignation .
Alyssa McGrath, 33, told the newspaper that Cuomo would comment on her appearance and make suggestive comments on her and another executive assistant.
She once told when she was summoned to his office to take dictation.
“I put my head down and waited for him to start talking, and he did not start talking,” she told The New York Times. ‘Then I looked up to see what was going on. And he looked blatantly down at my shirt. “She said Cuomo asked her, ” What’s up with your necklace? ‘What was in my shirt. ”
McGrath was also friends with another assistant who allegedly claimed the governor touched her. The unknown woman’s complaint has meanwhile been sent to the Albany police station. McGrath said she discussed the alleged incident with the woman after The Albany Times Union reported on it last week.
The associate told McGrath that Cuomo asked her not to tell her about the incident because he knew the two were close.
“He specifically told her not to tell me,” McGrath told The New York Times.
Cuomo denied the woman’s protest. “I have never done anything like this,” he told NBC News last week.
A Cuomo lawyer, Rita Glavin, told the newspaper there was nothing uncomfortable about Cuomo’s actions and said that ‘the governor greeted men and women with hugs and a kiss on the cheek, forehead or hand. Yes, he posed for photos with his arm around them. Yes, he uses Italian phrases like ‘ciao bella’. ”
‘None of this is remarkable, though it may be old-fashioned. “He made it clear that he had never made inappropriate progress or that anyone had become inappropriate,” she said.
A McGrath lawyer, Mariann Wang, told NBC News: “The governor’s deviations are not credible. It was not just friendly jokes.”
Since the first of now more than half a dozen allegations of sexual harassment were made against Cuomo last month, the governor has denied touching anyone improperly, but acknowledged that he may have acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable. He said it was unintentional and apologized. Cuomo has repeatedly said he will not resign, despite calls for him to step down from most of New York’s congressional delegation and dozens of state legislators.
Adam Reiss contributed.