Staten Island Republican Michael Grimm was charged with 20 criminal counts-- instead of 200-- and permitted to plead guilty to just one, resign from Congress and serve a couple of easy months in a Club Fed prison. He's already back on the street. A Mafia-oriented career in crime that went back decades was never even looked at seriously because of Grimm's first-hand knowledge of rampant criminality inside the FBI. One of his business partners, Bennett Orfaly, didn't get off as lightly Friday. Well, he almost got off as lightly.
Ex-Rep. Michael Grimm’s mobbed-connected business partner was ripped by a Brooklyn judge Thursday for not expressing enough remorse for his “crime of greed and misguided morals” as she sentenced him to six-months jail....Orfaly, 52, who once co-owned Upper East Side restaurant Healthalicious with the disgraced congressman, was charged with bilking the IRS out of more than $700,000 in taxes by understating receipts by $3.5 million at five of his restaurants.The hour-long proceeding included multiple references to Grimm’s case.The former FBI agent-turned-politico copped to tax evasion for hiding more than $900,000 in profits at Healthalicious and was sentenced to eight months.But Chen found Orfaly’s conduct, which spanned from 2009 to 2012, was on a “much greater magnitude” and “significantly different” to that of Grimm’s.“This was fraud by design for a long period of time,” the judge said.Orfaly was also ordered to pay back $717,527 in restitution and re-file all delinquent tax returns.The embattled restaurateur is a close associate of jailed Gambino mobster Anthony “Fat Tony” Morelli, who is linked to the late don John Gotti.Of Orfaly’s five pita restaurants, two are out of business and three are still operating, his lawyer James DiPietro said.“I am pleased at the sentence imposed,” DiPietro said outside the courtroom.Grimm, a former Marine, had been indicted on 20 charges, including cheating on his taxes, employing illegal immigrants and lying under oath.The Republican resigned after pleading guilty last December to a single count of tax evasion.
I'm pretty sure Grimm no longer has to wear an ankle bracelet that allows the police to keep track of him and you shouldn't be surprised to know that the enlightened Republican voters of Staten Island would like to have their criminal ex-congressman representing them again! Speaking of Staten Island, state-wide Trump won 60.4% of GOP votes in New York's Republican primary, but guess where he's greatest strength was. If you guessed Staten Island... well, it wasn't even close. Trump took 82.1% of Staten Island Republicans. That's the Mikey Suits base.
• Trump- 20,263 (82.1%)• Kasich- 2,501 (10.1%)• Cruz- 1,923 (7.8%)
In his native Brooklyn and Queens, Trump didn't do as well, respectively 64.2% and 67.9%, and in his current home, Manhattan, where he's best known, he actually lost to Kasich and wound up with just 41.8% of the GOP Vote.
