On Monday, Representative Michael Grimm was taken in custody as a result of charges involving campaign financing and allegations that he defrauded the government. The republican U.S. congressman turned himself in to FBI agents early in the morning.
According to ny1.com, FBI Assistant Director George Venizelos said in a statement, "As a former FBI agent, Representative Grimm should understand the motto: fidelity, bravery, and integrity. Yet he broke our credo at nearly every turn. In this twenty-count indictment, Representative Grimm lived by a new motto: fraud, perjury, and obstruction.”
The indictment in this case includes five counts of mail fraud, five counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiring to defraud the U.S., among other charges. The Justice Department took the case two years ago.
Grimm was arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn. The former marine admitted to having received $250,000 in contributions from an Israeli rabbi before he was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010. Grimm’s lawyer says he will continue to serve in Congress while fighting the charges.