STATEN ISLAND — Disgraced Congressman Michael Grimm could be trying to get his old job back next year, the New York Daily News reported.
Grimm — who spent nearly seven months in prison for tax fraud — started making calls through local Republican powerbroker Guy Molinari to round up support for a run in 2018, the News reported.
If he decides to run, he'll would have to face incumbent Rep. Dan Donovan in the Republican primary. The race already has five Democrats seeking the office.
Grimm did not respond to requests for comment.
Despite his prison term and other scandals, Grimm still remains popular among some Republican voters in the borough, GOP sources previously told DNAinfo New York.
"A lot of people think he was unfairly targeted, it was a political attack," a source said. "They still believe, maybe he wasn't a saint, but he did his job well and he was kind of unfairly removed."
Grimm was first elected to Congress in 2010 and was re-elected in 2014 despite being indicted for tax fraud, after he underreported more than $1 million in profits from an Upper East Side eatery he co-owned before he took office.
Shortly after his win, Grimm pleaded guilty to tax fraud and resigned from his seat. Donovan won the seat in May 2015 in a special election to replace Grimm.
Grimm was sentenced to eight months behind bars — but only served seven — and was ordered to pay back nearly $150,000 in restitution.
He paid the full balance off on June 20, weeks after a judge ruled federal authorities could garnish the rental income on his New Springville home because authorities claimed he hadn't made a payment in more than 30 days, according to court documents.
Since his release from prison, Grimm started to float the idea of running for Borough President against James Oddo, penned op-eds claiming he was "demonized by the media," and urged President Donald Trump to "fight fire with fire."
