Nurse details Cuomo family's COVID testing access in new report

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Nurse details Cuomo family's testing access in new report

Governor Cuomo's family was reportedly given priority access to COVID tests.

NEW YORK (WABC) -- There's a new report about Governor Andrew Cuomo and his family receiving priority access to coronavirus testing early in the pandemic.

A nurse dispatched to test patients found the situation "morally problematic."

The nurse told the Washington Post they were dispatched from an operations center in New Rochelle to run tests in private residences and hotel rooms.

The nurse says the governor's family was treated like royalty.

The article also reports Governor Cuomo's brother-in-law, designer Kenneth Cole, was among those with access to the testing.

New York GOP Chairman Nick Langworthy released a statement on the "TestGate" scandal saying, "The new details that continue to emerge about Governor Cuomo's priority covid testing for his family and supporters are deeply disturbing and indicate a clear violation of the law. His actions were an abuse of state resources that demand a criminal investigation by Albany County District Attorney David Soares. Former Comptroller Alan Hevesi was charged with a felony and forced to resign over a far more innocuous abuse of state resources involving his family--Andrew Cuomo's crimes cost lives and he must be held accountable."

Meantime, an upstate New York woman said Monday that New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo grabbed her face and kissed her cheek at her home during a visit to inspect local flood damage, becoming the latest woman to accuse the embattled governor of inappropriate behavior.

Sherry Vill, a 55-year-old mother of three who has been married for more than 30 years, made the allegations during a Zoom news conference with attorney Gloria Allred, describing a spring 2017 visit to her Rochester-area home after flooding near Lake Ontario.

"(She) became the victim of the governor's unwelcome and unconsented physical contact with her, grabbing her face and kissing her in 2017," Allred said.

Lucy Yang has more on the latest accuser to come forward against Andrew Cuomo.

Vill lives in Greece, NY, where her home and business were severely damaged by flooding from Lake Ontario. Cuomo came to her neighborhood to tour the damage.

Dave Evans has the latest on the Cuomo investigation.

Rita Glavin, who represents Cuomo, defended her client against the claims made at the press conference:

"During times of crisis, 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. I encourage everyone to look at other photographs from his visit to Greece, NY that day. Nothing described at today's press conference was unique in that regard. Three other related points concerning Gloria Alfred's press conference: (1) the July 19, 2017 letter from the Governor that Ms. Allred displayed was a nearly identical follow-up form letter sent to more than 30 people that the Governor visited to support and assist following the Lake Ontario flooding, and those form letters were signed with an autopen; (2) it is a practice of the Governor's office to send signed photos to people he meets with after events, and those photos are regularly signed with an autopen; (3) it is common for staffers to contact constituents after events and invite them to a future event on a related topic."

A series of women, some who worked for Cuomo, have accused him of making inappropriate comments about their looks, giving them unwanted hugs or kisses, or making comments they interpreted as gauging their interest in an affair. Among his accusers are two aides who still work in the governor's office.

One, who has yet to speak publicly, reportedly said the governor groped her at the Executive Mansion last summer.

Cuomo has denied touching anyone inappropriately but said he's sorry if he made anyone uncomfortable. The governor has brushed off widespread calls for his resignation and asked that people wait for the results of an investigation overseen by state Attorney General Letitia James.