Craig D. Apple Sr. is called the "Teflon Sheriff" among some Democratic colleagues because of his ability to persevere and even thrive, overcoming the trouble that might tarnish less skilled politicians.

Image source... Patrick Dodson for The New York Times

Authors: Dana Rubinstein, Grace Ashford and Jane Gottlieb

Ten years ago, in the successful campaign to become a county sheriff, a potentially destructive recording appeared.

"I know exactly how to manipulate the law, and I am very good at doing it," Craig D. Apple Sr., then deputy sheriff of Albany County, New York, was recorded to a group of county investigators.

His words appeared to have little effect on voters: Mr. Apple was elected sheriff, and his tenure and popularity have led him to run unopposed in every election since.

But the Apple Sheriff now finds himself under stricter scrutiny. In October, the sheriff filed a criminal lawsuit against former Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, accusing him of misdemeanor sex crimes, which are usually related to accusations of unpopular sex in public places-there is no county prosecutor’s office in doing so. participate.

Mr. Cuomo and his accomplices accused the sheriff of having old grudges against Mr. Cuomo and dismissed the law enforcement official as a "cowboy sergeant." They reappeared the old recording in an attempt to question the integrity of the Apple Sheriff and questioned his decision to accuse the former governor.

They also stated that the sheriff had coordinated the timing of the complaint with the state attorney general Leticia James, who announced her candidacy for governor the day after the allegations were made public. No evidence of coordination emerged, but Mr. Cuomo’s lawyer Rita Gravin stated that the timing “should bring us all to a halt. The heavy political power is the force behind this decision.”

Other attacks followed. Since August, when the sheriff revealed that he was investigating an allegation that Mr. Cuomo was groping an assistant’s chest in the administrative building, the sheriff’s office received anonymous threats and hate emails against him and his family. Chang assumed that these emails came from Como's supporters.

Sheriff Apple dismissed these threats. "Put yourself in my place," he said. "Do you want me to choose my complainant or the victim?"

The 54-year-old Apple Sheriff manages a department of approximately 700 deputies, correctional officers, dispatchers, fire investigators, and medical rescuers.

Growing up in the town of Bethlehem, south of Albany, the Apple Sheriff joined the department in 1987, when he had just graduated from high school two years ago. Since then, he has appeared in the local media almost all the time-attracting reporters with stories of high-speed chases, a prolific jewellery thief, mischievous teenagers, and even the torture of a snapping turtle.

The sheriff is tall and rugged, and is known for his love of cigars. His many compelling efforts on things not related to work have also received broad community support.

Matthew J. Miller, a Democratic county legislator and high school biology teacher in Selkirk, not far from the place where the Apple Sheriff was growing up, recalled how the Sheriff responded In 2014, 5-year-old Kenneth White was strangled to death by a teenage cousin. The home in Knox, New York is part of the rural Hilltowns community in northwestern Albany County.

The sheriff quickly appeared, organized a vigil, and became friends with the boy's two surviving sisters, who were placed in the child protection service. In the spring of 2019, a new family adopted these girls, and he took them out of the family court in a police car with flashing lights and sirens.

Mr. Miller said: "I would say that even Andrew Cuomo can hardly discredit our sheriff in his game." "He has a reservoir of goodwill."

The sheriff’s jurisdiction is approximately 540 square miles, overlapping with local police departments in cities such as Albany, Bethlehem, and Cojos. His office is also responsible for managing the county jail. After New York City bans young prisoners from being held in solitary confinement, it investigates allegations of torture and then begins to transfer young prisoners to Albany, where there are no such restrictions.

But compared with the scrutiny that the Apple Sheriff has received since he accused Cuomo of forced contact, the attention to this controversy pales in comparison. This is a misdemeanor that carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison, but usually results in a shorter sentence.

The complaint is based on a statement by Brittany Commisso, Mr. Cuomo's former administrative assistant. She accused Mr. Cuomo of reaching out under her shirt to touch her breasts when they were alone in the administrative building at the end of last year; Ms. Comiso is one of a dozen women who accused Mr. Cuomo of being sexually harassed and constituted the state prosecutor. The basis of the long report eventually led Cuomo to resign in August.

Ms. Comiso filed a complaint with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office against Mr. Cuomo in August. Subsequent investigations led to criminal charges.

Although the Sheriff’s Department is responsible for investigating various crimes in Albany County, there are very few sexual crimes. For example, in 2018, the Albany Police Department arrested 17 people on the highest charge of sex crimes. The Sheriff’s Department handled six.

But according to people familiar with the matter, Ms. Comiso’s lawyer went to the sheriff to lodge a complaint because of concerns that the Albany Police Department did not want to deal with the explosive political investigation of Mr. Cuomo.

Sheriff Apple stated that his office was assisted by external lawyers hired by the state attorney general's office and the state assembly, and the state assembly conducted a separate investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against Mr. Cuomo. "This case is a very reliable case," the sheriff said shortly after Mr. Cuomo was charged.

However, his handling of Cuomo’s complaint made him vulnerable to criticism from the Cuomo camp, and more importantly, from the criticism from the Albany District Attorney David Suarez, he has not yet promised to prosecute the case.

Suarez said that the Apple Sheriff used a "disturbing" investigative method in the Cuomo case and concealed evidence that he might be "not guilty."

The two law enforcement officials could not even agree on the submitted documents: Mr. Suarez said in a letter to the court that the key part of Ms. Comiso’s statement was missing; the sheriff disagreed, saying that his investigator was in the first one. After the copy disappeared, the necessary documents were completely submitted not once but twice.

The road to resignation. In the early days of the pandemic, New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo's leadership won national praise in the early days of the pandemic, but he faced several scandals that eventually led to his resignation on August 10, 2021. The following is information about his political death:

Allegations of sexual harassment. Several women accused Mr. Cuomo of harassment, including groping and obscene remarks. An independent investigation by the New York State Attorney General confirmed these claims. The investigation also found that he retaliated against at least one woman who made public complaints.

Controversy over nursing homes. The Como government has come under fire for underestimating the number of deaths in nursing homes caused by Covid-19 in the first half of 2020. Official statistics may underestimate the true number of deaths by 50%.

Book a transaction. The Attorney General’s report found that Mr. Cuomo used state personnel to produce his epidemiological memoirs, violating his commitment to the Joint Committee on Public Ethics, that is, not using state resources to complete it. The board subsequently voted to revoke the authorization for the book.

Chris Cuomo's participation. CNN anchor and Andrew Cuomo’s brother, Chris Cuomo, was suspended indefinitely by the network on November 30, after the New York State Attorney General released new evidence that he had done something to assist his brothers and sisters. His far-reaching efforts violated journalistic standards. He was fired on December 4.

The Apple Sheriff stated that he and Mr. Suarez initially worked together, but they decided to conduct parallel investigations to avoid mutual accusations and leaks.

The sheriff denied the speculation that he filed criminal proceedings without the coordination of the local prosecutor in order to force Mr. Suarez to prosecute the case.

"Listen, he is the district attorney, and he can do whatever he needs to do in this case," the Apple Sheriff said. "I mean, it's all up to him. It's his privilege. But I won't say that I locked him in. I don't think it's fair."

Mr. Suarez requested the postponement of Mr. Cuomo’s arraignment and was approved to postpone it until January.

Mr. Cuomo also tried to discredit the sheriff's investigation by trying to link him to Ms. James. Not only did she announce her campaign the day after the criminal charges against Mr. Cummer were made public-she also recently visited the county, distributed millions of dollars in aid to the local government, and collaborated with the Sheriff including Apple The local staff members took a group photo.

Ms. James's "timing was a bit bad," the sheriff said. "I mean, she is the attorney general. Everyone took this picture. They just naturally assumed, you know, we are colluding, you know, we are going to engage in some political scam. I was like,'Oh ,my God.'"

Regardless of the outcome of the Cummer case, the sheriff’s status in his community does not seem to be affected: he is called a "Teflon sheriff" among some of his fellow Democrats because he has the ability to persevere, even if he may not. So a skilled politician who thrives in the trouble of damage.

Many people say that part of this ability can be traced back to the frequent and conspicuous acts of kindness of the sheriff.

He established a progress record, usually not related to the county sheriff. He turned a seldom-used side of the prison into a dormitory-style housing for the homeless, and implemented medically assisted treatment for prisoners addicted to opioids.

His office began to provide rapid Covid-19 tests and vaccines, and the Apple Sheriff stated that the move was due to "strong support from the governor's office."

In 2018, the sheriff inspired the county and made headlines across the state, when about 300 immigrants swept by the southern border raid were taken to the Albany County Jail. The sheriff described their confusion, dirty belongings and tears. He then recruited the immigration law clinic of Albany Law School to open a shop in prison and recruit interpreters.

In 2019, he accepted the plight of Kinimo Ngoran, a cook at a homeless shelter in downtown Albany. Although he has been working hard to obtain citizenship, he was arrested for violating immigration regulations.

The Apple Sheriff twice tweeted President Trump, calling for the release of Ngolan, even including his phone number. The sheriff attended the two hearings of Mr. Ngolan and sat in the front row in uniform. He walked out of the court with the released Mr. Ngolan.

Democratic Congressman John MacDonald, whose constituency includes parts of Albany County, said that if someone thinks that the Apple Sheriff accuses Mr. Cuomo "because he needs political support in next year's election, it is ridiculous."

"As long as he wants to be the sheriff, Craig Apple will be the sheriff," he said.

Luis Ferré-Sadurní contributed reporting to this article.