STATEN ISLAND — Convicted felon Michael Grimm was "demonized" by the media as he was transformed from "hero to villain" for failing to pay taxes — but he's on track to return to his usual "level of excellence."
The self-pitying complaints were made in an op-ed the disgraced congressman wrote in New York Observer months after being released from an eight month prison stint.
The screed goes into detail of Grimm's time in Marines and the FBI, and talks about his commitment to public service — but skirts over the crime for which he lost his seat in Congress and was sentenced.
"Unfortunately, after the demonizing media barrage aimed at me for the past 40+ months, many are under the false impression that I was a corrupt politician," Grimm wrote, claiming that failing to pay taxes on an Upper East Side business happened before he was elected.
"To be clear, I accepted responsibility for failing to file accurate restaurant’s taxes — mostly pertaining to the employees who were paid in cash.
"It’s something that never should have happened, there are no excuses, I was wrong. Although I did this before I was elected to Congress, as a Marine, a former FBI agent and a lawyer, I should have known better.
"It’s not easy going from hero to villain."
Grimm detailed his career as a Marine, a lawyer, an FBI agent, a Wall Street stockbroker and finally a politician in the piece and wrote that convictions similar to to his are usually given a slap on the wrist — not jail time.
"Infractions such as mine are routinely handled with civil or administrative action, usually resulting in fines from the Department of Labor," he said.
"Research indicates that no other restaurant owner in the history of the City had ever been hit with felony charges and jail time. No excuses. I deeply regret my actions and learned just how human I am, with frailties and failings.
"I had to fall far to appreciate that fully."
Despite touting his work as an FBI agent in the letter, Grimm is barred from entering its New York field office and his photo is posted at security stations to keep him out.
In July, Grimm was sentenced to eight months in prison for underreporting profits.
At his sentencing, Judge Pamela Chin chided Grimm for only belatedly apologizing for his crime and characterizing it as a minor one.
"Your moral compass, Mr. Grimm, needs some reorientation," Chen said during the sentencing.
"He was actively perpetrating fraud on a regular or weekly basis."
In his piece, Grimm also highlights how — despite his girlfriend being sentenced to jail for illegal campaign contributions to his 2010 re-election bid — he was never formally charged for them.
"Then there were false allegations that I raised money illegally and coerced people, which I shrugged off," Grimm wrote.
"I knew how outlandish they were; not a chance for this Marine. The fact is that no such charges were ever formally brought against me, and 19 counts of the 20-count indictment relating to my business and taxes were dropped."
In his first interview after his release with NY1, Grimm said he was considering a return to the political world and was currently working on writing a book about his life.
"I am putting this horrific ordeal behind me, and getting back to work," Grimm wrote in his op-ed. "My desire to serve and contribute to the greatest nation in the world remains undaunted."
