The grandmother of the New York state trooper who worked as Gov. Andrew Cuomo ’s bodyguard and was transferred to the Canadian border af...
The grandmother of the New York state trooper who worked as Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s bodyguard and was transferred to the Canadian border after starting a relationship with the politician’s daughter is speaking out to reveal the couple had been together for a 'long time' and even discussed marriage.
Dane Pfeiffer, a former tennis player and state trooper, 35, is believed to have struck up a relationship with the governor’s daughter Cara Kennedy-Cuomo, 25, in April during the pandemic.
Last month it was revealed that Pfeiffer, who became a trooper in 2015, was reportedly reassigned to a post near the Canadian border after Gov. Cuomo learned of the relationship.
Dane’s 95-year-old grandmother Marianne Pfeiffer says the governor is being 'ridiculous' in his handling of the romance.
'I think he’s being ridiculous because he’s always been a good friend of the family – and a good friend of Dane,' Pfeiffer said to the New York Post.
The grandmother of state trooper Dane Pfeiffer, 35, (left) who was transferred to the Canadian border after starting a relationship with Gov. Andrew Cuomo's daughter Cara Kennedy-Cuomo (together right) is speaking out to defend their romance
The grandmother didn’t provide any clarification on whether Dane was forced to be transferred or volunteered.
She also called Cara a 'wonderful girl' and that she and Dane 'have a lot in common.'
'They love dogs, the outdoors… She’s got everything Dane likes in a woman,' she said.
'Both of them love America and want to do the best they possibly can,' she added.
She said Dane and Cara have been an item 'for a long time', starting about eight months ago after Cara moved into the mansion in Albany due to the coronavirus pandemic, and they even discussed marriage.
'My advice is if they really want to get married, that’s what they should do,' she said. 'They have spoken about it in the past.'
'Dane has always been a wonderful, lovely, kind and considerate person,' she added from her home in Lyme, Connecticut.
'Anybody who knows him loves him,' she said.
Dane's grandmother Marianne Pfeiffer called Cara a 'wonderful girl' and that she and Dane 'have a lot in common.' She said: 'She’s got everything Dane likes in a woman.' Cara pictured above during New York Fashion Week in February
Dane Pfeiffer, 35, pictured left and right. A search of social media shows him to have been an avid tennis player and someone who likes to keep fit by working out
The New York State Executive Mansion is the official residence of the Governor of New York, Andrew Cuomo. Pfeiffer is said to routinely return to the abode to pick up Kennedy-Cuomo for dates
But the grandmother didn't want to share too many details on the relationship.
'I’m not sure that whole thing really happened the way [the media] said,' she said.
'I don’t want to comment anymore because it’s only going to make the situation worse,' she added.
Sources familiar with the matter told the New York Post as soon as the governor found out about the pair Pfeiffer was removed from his security detail and promptly transferred to a posting some 160 miles at a state police station in Plattsburgh.
State police said the trooper 'requested a voluntary transfer' on May 24 to join Troop B in northeastern New York, but sources have suggested that he was in fact sent away as punishment by Cuomo 'to keep him away from the daughter' because he 'didn't like whatever they were doing.'
Pfeiffer together with his parents John and Marga Pfeiffer and his sister, Aubris
Sources told the New York Post the governor found out the pair were dating soon after and Pfeiffer was removed from his security detail and transferred 160 miles away to a state police station in Plattsburgh. Pictured Cara circled with from left her twin sister Mariah Kennedy-Cuomo, mom Kerry Kennedy and younger sister Michaela Kennedy-Cuomo in 2019
A law enforcement source said Pfeiffer's relationship with the governor's daughter broke 'the protocol of dignitary protection', meaning he could no longer serve in Cuomo's security detail.
However the trooper's actions were not classed as misconduct and didn't go on his record as an official disciplinary matter, they said.
That said, the governor wasn't reportedly happy with the two dating and Pfeiffer was sent to the post just 25 miles south of Canada.
Pfeiffer attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, near Albany in Upstate New York and played tennis while he was a student at school.
Pfeiffer who is said to usually live in Saratoga Springs now has a 260 mile-round trip commute to Plattsburgh.
Cuomo has often made jokes about his daughter Mariah's love interest but has made no mention of Cara being in a relationship. Earlier this month he tweeted a photo of him sitting around the dinner table with his three daughters joking about 'the boyfriend' being absent
Mariah Kennedy Cuomo with her boyfriend Tellef Lundevall, 29. Back in April, Cuomo said Lundevall was 'very nice' before launching into advice to other fathers that they should always say 'I like the boyfriend'
Despite the distance, the couple reportedly can't be kept apart and Pfeiffer often returns to visit the Executive Mansion to take Cara on dates despite her father's disapproval.
Cuomo has often made jokes about his daughter Mariah's love interest but has made no mention of Cara being in a relationship.
Earlier this month he tweeted a photo of him sitting around the dinner table with his three daughters - Cara, her twin Mariah and Michaela, 23.
'Sunday dinner - Check. Meatballs - Check. The Boyfriend - ?' he wrote.
Cuomo was apparently making a joke about Mariah's boyfriend Tellef Lundevall, 29, with a spokesman later telling The Post: 'We like the boyfriend.'
Days later, he continued the joke in an appearance on 'The Late Show.'
'Let's just say the boyfriend is no longer with us,' he said before breaking into a laugh.
Back in April, Cuomo said Lundevall was 'very nice' before launching into advice to other fathers that they should always say 'I like the boyfriend'.
'The answer on what you think of the boyfriend is always, 'I like the boyfriend.' Always,' he said during one of his daily press conferences when he detoured from coronavirus to what to do when your daughter brings her suitor over for Sunday dinner.
'In this case, I actually like the boyfriend,' he said.
He warned of a syndrome called 'NDS' if parents put up resistance to their daughters' choices of partner.
'NDS is Natural Defiance Syndrome,' he said.
'It's not documented, but it is a psychological condition where if you say as a father, 'I don't like him,' Natural Defiance Syndrome kicks in and then they like the boyfriend more because he is opposed by the father,' he said at the time.
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