X Rep Weiner Turn In Rep Grimm of Staten Is. For Extortion
MARK BONIFACIO/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Rep. Michael Grimm
Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto, who has been sought for personal advice by some of Israel’s most powerful pols as well as sports figures such as LeBron James, told Weiner in October 2010 that he felt coerced into encouraging his congregation to donate to Grimm’s campaign.
“The complaint at the time was that Grimm had mentioned that he was a former FBI agent and let the rabbi know, through his interpreter and staff, that he could help the congregation, or make life tougher for them, and that he was a good person to have as a friend, not an enemy,” a law enforcement source told Roll Call.
The disgraced Democrat confirmed that he passed along the tip about his colleague to the feds.
“I don’t know the truth of the allegations the rabbi made, so I am not going to repeat them. But I can confirm that I did the right thing at the time and reported the allegations to the FBI,” Weiner told the Daily News.
This is not the first time Grimm, a Republican, has been accused of strong-arming the rabbi’s E. 58th St. congregation, Shuva Israel, which is based heavily in Jewish mysticism.
Members told The New York Times in January that Grimm pressured members for donations with relentless phone calls and sometimes told donors to meet downtown near the FBI building.
The News reported on Sunday that the ex-agent, petitioned a federal judge to go easy in sentencing a convicted fraudster.
Grimm fired back, calling the allegation “proof of the coordinated, Democratic smear campaign.”
His lawyer went on to attack Weiner’s credibility after the ex-congressman was caught tweeting lewd photos to strangers.
“Mr. Weiner’s false allegations about Congressman Grimm are no more credible than his original claims of innocence in WeinerGate,” said William McGinley.
ckatz@nydailynews.com
By Celeste Katz AND Alison Gendar / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
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