Rep. Michael Grimm surrendered to federal authorities on Monday morning, shortly before prosecutors at the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn unsealed a 20-count indictment related to Grimm's ownership of a health foods store in Manhattan.
Loretta Lynch, the U.S. Attorney for New York's Eastern District, presented the indictment at a press conference in Brooklyn, detailing a tax-evasion scheme that she said was "almost breathtaking in its simplicity."
The indictment accuses Grimm of pocketing more than a million dollars in cash payments at the Upper East Side store called Healthalicious.
"When it came to his restaurant, Michael Grimm never met a tax he didn't lie to evade," Lynch said.
The charges include mail, wire, health care and tax fraud, along with two counts of perjury.
According to the indictment, "Grimm paid a large portion of Healthalicious’ employees’ wages in cash and did not report those cash wages to federal and state authorities, thereby lowering the restaurant’s payroll tax costs."
In 2013, two former Healthalicious employees filed a federal civil lawsuit against Grimm alleging the congressman did not pay them minimum or overtime wages as required by law. During a deposition hearing for the case, Grimm allegedly lied "about several material matters in connection with the lawsuit including whether he paid his employees in cash, and if he had interacted with a payroll processing company," according to prosecutors.
The indictment comes after a two-year investigation that was believed to focus on Grimm's congressional fund-raising.
19 comments:
What a crumb. So who are you going to throw over the railing now Mr. Grimm?
HA HA HA HA HA HEE HEE HEE HEE HEE
HO HO HO HO HO
Every time I see this idiot's picture I can't stop laughing.
another psychotic power hungry disgraced republican that hates paying taxes
these loons of the GOP should be charged with sedition.
The truth about the restaurant industry is that nearly ALL local operators are involved in schemes like this.
Many are flag-waving dittohead crap.
Here is how it works: A "manager" gets a check that is approximately equal to minimum wage. He/she signs it and gives it back to the owner who, in turn, gives them cash for the real amount.
This way said manager declares an income of around 12k/yr but takes actually gets around 35k, the bulk of which is untaxed.
Larger operators don't generally do this because it is too risky when you have a lot of employees. But "mom&pops" and local chains are another matter. Many of them dispense with the checks altogether for low-level workers and just pay cash.
Great Americans.
This is the guy who replaced Vito Fosella, after a brief interlude of sanity under McMahon. I submit that the restaurant charge is a chimera; what needs to be done is regular testing for 'roids in Congress: the puffy face, the whacko behavior, the hyper agressive-defensive mind-set, are all indicators...
Someone on the inside was attempting to blackmail Grimm, didn't get what he wanted, and took the evidence to the feds.
Does our government think for one minute that all of those businesses in Flushing are paying their taxes ?
"...another psychotic power hungry disgraced republican that hates paying taxes..."
How's that great democrat and tax evader Charlie Rangel doing?
We need to get past the party afilliations. Many (most) of our lawmakers are self serving, corrupt, mentally ill, ethically challenged, self interested etc. etc. Both parties. You can be either a democrat or a republican douchebag. We need to weed them out until we get normal people.
Anon No. 8: Very well, by most accounts. How are you doing?
"How's that great democrat and tax evader Charlie Rangel doing?"
They'll fry that white boy's ass but blackie gets a pass.
the POLS. who have had the I.R.S./D.O.J target Mr. Grim( a combat marine/former F.B.I. agent),waited till the 2014 cutoff date to expire to file NOT to campaign for congress in the next election. Grim will be defeated by M.S.M for the targeteers.unless the district voters smell the rat in politics as usual.
The D.O.J/agents will target all of the business owners in N.Queens, whose "undocumented' workers ride the late buses and bikes west from Little Neck to Corona each night, after possibly being paid "off the books"
That picture bespeaks a figure who is very determined.
Anon no. 12: Well, that certainly proves "Mr. Grim" (if you know so much about him, shouldn't you know how to spell his name?) to be innocent of the charges against him.
How's that charlie rangel doing?
when there's a post on him,I will label him as such.
for the time being,screw rangel,that piece of shit grimm and his dem collaborator from south queens meeks.
and all the establishment do and good for nothings in congress.
Dems want that seat. They tried to dig up big stuff on him. But in the end, they pin this on him so as to save their investigatory butts.
Having just wrote the comment about the Dems wanting his seat, I just read a NYT article on his previous business dealings with this other one time FBI agent. This guy keeps/has kept some dubious company in his time.
#14..My comment was never to prove anything.if a dem pol.was targeted ,would you give him his constitutional right of being innocent till proven guilty by a jury trial ?
he has been targeted during the next election cycle so that the M.S.M. can smear him and destroy his chance to win the seat.
until the proof of his guilt is affirmed, I will give a Marine /F.B.I. Patriot the benefit of the doubt.
SEMPER FI.......and GO NAVY......
do you think he will take the fifth ,like ex IRS alleged targeteer Lois Lerner ?
Anon no. 18: Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, not just the guys whose background you like. Lois Lerner hasn't been indicted, much less convicted.
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