Behind the scenes of Andrew Cuomo’s campaign to become New York City’s next mayor, the former governor is fighting an expensive legal battle to clear his name. New Yorkers are on the hook to pay for almost all of it.
In courtrooms across New York, Cuomo has been involved in more than a dozen lawsuits over allegations he sexually harassed former state employees, made an improper book deal and mishandled Covid-19 in nursing homes.
The taxpayer-funded costs associated with his multifront legal defense and offense — he’s sued five state agencies or entities — have surpassed $61 million and involve at least 16 law firms, according to state comptroller records obtained by Bloomberg. Eight of the lawsuits are ongoing.
New York law allows current or former state employees sued for conduct related to their government work to have defense costs paid by the state. Cuomo, a Democrat, was sued in federal court by three state employees accusing him of sexual harassment during his time in office, as well as by families of deceased nursing home residents who allege the former governor’s handling of the pandemic resulted in their deaths. Taxpayers are also paying for the defense of the government bodies he’s suing.
“I’m not sure there’s ever been a case exactly like his when it comes to size and the amount of money,” Manhattan state Senator Liz Krueger, a Democrat, said of the legal tab. “It’s a breathtaking number.”
Scrutiny of Cuomo’s time as governor has been renewed as the 67-year-old pitches himself as the man to unseat New York City Mayor Eric Adams and fix the issues plaguing New Yorkers. He’s so far overcome criticism of his alleged wrongdoing to lead a crowded field of challengers in the June primary, touting his record of accomplishments like passing laws recognizing gay marriage and raising the minimum wage, opening Moynihan Train Hall and replacing the aging Tappan Zee Bridge.
His career came to a stunning halt when he resigned in August 2021, during the middle of his third term, after New York State Attorney General Letitia James released a report accusing him of sexually harassing 11 women while he was governor. Several of the alleged victims were current or former state employees. The women who have sued him since then include an anonymous state trooper and former state employees Charlotte Bennett and Brittany Commisso.
“The Attorney General bears direct responsibility for this entire mess,” Rita Glavin, Cuomo’s attorney, said in a statement. “She spent $8 million on a shoddy investigation and inaccurate report to pave the way for her own political campaign for Governor. The Assembly followed suit and spent $6 million on its own equally flawed tag-along report.”
A spokesman for James said the attorney general stands behind the investigation and its findings, and that “the former Governor bears responsibility for his own actions, full stop.”
Bennett dropped her lawsuit against Cuomo in December, saying in a statement that Cuomo’s “abusive filings and invasive subpoenas are meant to humiliate and retaliate against me,” and that his actions caused “extraordinary pain and expense to my family and friends.” Last week, she settled with the state for $450,000 over a separate lawsuit accusing New York of failing to protect her.
Cuomo has said her claims are false and is suing for defamation. He said he will pay the fees associated with that case.
Cuomo has also sued the state attorney general over the denial of records he says are critical to his defense, and then sued the state comptroller for refusing to cover the costs associated with his fight against James. He’s also sued the state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government over its ruling that he improperly received a $5 million payout for his book about the pandemic.
The former governor, who also previously served as the state’s attorney general, has seen two of three Covid-related lawsuits dismissed, although plaintiffs in one of the cases are currently appealing the dismissal.
Typically, the state attorney general would defend former state employees. But James, whom Cuomo has accused of having political motives for her investigation, has recused herself in matters related to the former governor. That has allowed Cuomo and the state agencies he sued to retain 16 different private law firms for their respective defenses.
The law firms are being paid discounted rates of $600 to $750 an hour, records obtained by Bloomberg News show.
While it’s not the first time the state has paid for former officials’ legal bills, state officials say the situation with Cuomo is unprecedented in size and scope.
Critics say the former governor is exploiting a loophole that sets no real limit on state costs to try to discredit the women who accused him of harassment, regardless if they’ve sued him. In February, Susan Lerner, executive director for Common Cause New York, wrote in a letter to state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who approves the payments, that he should rein in unreasonable expenses.
“The lack of sufficient oversight of reimbursements has enabled Mr. Cuomo to perpetuate the harassment of women he was already found to have harassed by multiple investigations, now through the legal system and at taxpayer expense,” Lerner wrote in the letter, which was co-signed by Erica Vladimer, co-founder of the Sexual Harassment Working Group.
DiNapoli’s office disputes having any power to curtail expenses. Attorneys defending the former governor owe “that defendant, and not the State, the fiduciary and ethical obligation of zealous representation,” DiNapoli’s counsel Nelson Sheingold said in a letter obtained by Bloomberg News.
Cuomo’s lawyers have subpoenaed or sought depositions from more than 50 non-party witnesses, including many of his accusers, their family members, former employees and romantic partners. Lawyers have also filed motions to make public the identity of one of Cuomo’s anonymous accusers. Cuomo’s attorneys say the trooper who sued him is responsible for dragging other accusers into the litigation because she cited their accounts in her complaint.
Cuomo’s legal team subpoenaed five years worth of Bennett’s medical records, including gynecological records, and tried to depose the president of the school she attended. They say the documents are necessary because Bennett claimed to experience mental and physical effects as a result of the alleged harassment, and that their requests are legitimate and relevant to the allegations he faces.
“In most cases, there are real constraints on time and resources,” said Effie Blassberger, partner at Clayman Rosenberg Kirshner & Linder LLP, who has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in sexual harassment cases.
New York, which is paying most of the bill, has a $250 billion annual budget. Cuomo’s net worth is $3.4 million, according to financial disclosures.
“In a high-profile case like this, those limits seem to disappear,” Blassberger said. “The defense team here has the means to thoroughly investigate every potential witness.”
‘Off the rails’
Though Cuomo initially said there were “11 women who I truly offended,” the former governor has since expressed regret over his decision to leave office, and alleged that the women who spoke out against him conspired to force his resignation.
“I never resigned because I said I did something wrong,” he said in an exclusive interview with Bloomberg News in 2022.
Cuomo’s lawyers have sought years of phone records from retired state police officer Stephen Nevins who communicated with one of the accusers. They argued the phone records were necessary because Nevins was a “puppet-master” who ordered a “hit” on Cuomo. Nevins’ lawyers have fought the subpoena, calling it a “fishing expedition.”
Lindsey Boylan, a former state employee who was the first woman to go public against Cuomo, also had her phone records targeted after she was named in two other lawsuits against the former governor. Boylan says she has spent more than $2 million of her own money on legal defense costs for those cases, and will not be reimbursed.
She called the process invasive and exhausting, and said Cuomo’s unyielding strategy “represents who he is,” Boylan said. “Abusive in every possible way of every possible power and system that he could control.”
Cuomo’s attorneys deny Boylan’s allegations and accused her of making the claims as part of a political campaign she was pursuing at the time. Boylan, who has run for Congress and Manhattan borough president, denies Cuomo’s accusation.
The judges overseeing the cases have been colorful in their descriptions of the discovery process. One described it as a “quagmire” and “off the rails”, while another called it a “scorched-earth” strategy.
Senator Krueger, who said she’s unsurprised by Cuomo’s legal tactics, recently introduced legislation to impose more controls on state funding for legal costs.
“He is very good at evaluating strengths and weaknesses in existing state law,” Krueger said. “Given his overall history of being very good at recognizing that the best defense is a good offense, he’s being consistent.”
Several of the lawsuits will likely be ongoing in 2026, when the next mayoral term begins. Cuomo’s attorneys say that even if they are, his ability to perform his public duties would not be impeded if he’s elected to office.
“This is America, and anyone sued is entitled to due process and the right to defend themselves, particularly against demonstrably false allegations,” Glavin, Cuomo’s attorney, said. “All of this could have been avoided had the AG not created this $14 million mess in the first place – taxpayers should be demanding answers for that.”
