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Michael Grimm Details 'Caring' Life in Bid to Escape Prison Time

By Nicholas Rizzi | June 24, 2015 9:40am
 Former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm urged a federal judge to sentence him to probation instead of prison time for his tax fraud conviction, citing his military record and role as caretaker of his family and former borough president Guy Molinari.
Former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm urged a federal judge to sentence him to probation instead of prison time for his tax fraud conviction, citing his military record and role as caretaker of his family and former borough president Guy Molinari.
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DNAinfo/Nicholas Rizzi

STATEN ISLAND — Disgraced former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm has asked a federal judge not to give him jail time, based on his military record and role as a caretaker for former borough president Guy Molinari.

A 138-page court document filed Monday follows Grimm's entire life and claims he's responsible for the care of his diabetic mother, his sister who suffers from depression and the 86-year-old Molinari.

It also states that Grimm has been unable to find work since his tax fraud conviction, which cost him "everything that he worked so hard to achieve." 

It includes letters written by his family, a man he arrested while in the FBI, former co-workers in the FBI, former constituents and Molinari, all of whom urged the judge to sentence Grimm to probation.

"Michael may be one of the most caring and compassionate persons I have ever met; at my age I can barely walk and rarely leave the house, but Michael calls me every day, visits me several times per week, brings me food, checks with my doctors and so on," Molinari wrote. 

"In short, Michael has become one of my primary caretakers. Even though I no longer have much to offer him other than moral support and words of encouragement, Michael has remained steadfast and loyal, taking great care of me, often spending Friday or Saturday nights with me to watch boxing matches on TV when I know he has other places to be."  

The filings were first reported by the Staten Island Advance.

The documents also include a letter written by Patricia Dresch, who lost her husband and daughter when her Yetman Avenue home got wiped away by Hurricane Sandy.

In it, Dresch said Grimm made sure she had a place to live and food to eat after the storm, helped with her home's assessment of damage and gave her a rescued dachshund.

"I often wondered why I was chosen to survive that night, why I was given a second chance," Dresch wrote.

"I am sure that I am here to keep Angela and George’s spirit alive and to help advocate for other survivors. Michael Grimm has helped to give me a second chance. It is my sincerest wish that this court can see the true nature of this man’s heart and offer him a second chance as well."

Last year, Grimm was convicted of tax fraud for underreporting more than $1 million in profits from an Upper East Side eatery he co-owned. A week after his conviction, Grimm announced he would resign from his seat, which District Attorney Dan Donovan won in a special election.

In the filing, Grimm's lawyers claim that he merely followed the practices of his co-owners with falsifying taxes and only did it to keep his business afloat, especially since the Second Avenue subway construction project reduced foot traffic.

In addition to his conviction, Grimm's term was plagued by several other scandals, including investigations into his campaign fundraising and threats he made on camera to throw a NY1 reporter off a balcony. 

Grimm is set to be sentenced on July 17.