GOP Representative Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.) has been indicted for multiple federal charges:
In a 30-page indictment unsealed Monday, Grimm — in an apparent scheme to avoid tax payments — is charged with under-reporting income from Healthalicious, where he allegedly employed workers who were illegally in the country. In addition to the tax fraud allegations, the 20-count indictment includes conspiracy, obstruction, mail fraud, perjury and the unlawful employment of illegal immigrants.
This is the same fine, upstanding REPUBLICAN representative who last January threatened journalist Michael Scotto with physical violence. The video in the above piece DEMANDS watching. Sadly, the embed fails.
Racism (see below). Venal corruption. Bullying. Corrupt FBI. Abuse of FBI authority. This guy has it all.
Mr. Grimm exemplifies why the mainstream media’s attempted conflation of Democrats and Republicans into some shared “hyper partisanship” is so deceitful. I know of no House Democrats who conduct themselves this way. Mr. Grimm is the face of GOP obstructionism. Mr. Grimm is who the Supreme Court has gutted campaign finance laws to put and keep in office. Mr. Grimm is why immigration reform is dead on arrival in today’s house.
The Democrats should make Mr. Grimm the poster boy for why the GOP is a dangerous embarrassment for all of us. This man has no place in high office.
Mr. Grimm was also an undercover FBI agent for nine years. It seems his threats against Mr. Scotto are not unprecedented — Mr. Grimm was involved in similar threats in 1999. That episode was reported in a 2011 piece by Evan Ratliff (emphasis mine):
Not long ago, I finally found information about the night-club altercation that Santoro’s lawyers had been looking for when he pleaded guilty. It involved a lawsuit filed in the summer of 2000 against Grimm by a Guyanese-American former N.Y.P.D. officer named Gordon Williams. This winter, I spoke with Williams about the incident. “It was one of those days that I will never forget,” he said. “You lose a loved one and you remember the day. It was like that.” When I spoke with Grimm later, however, he declared that Williams’s account is a fabrication, that he had acted with professional probity, and that he had been cleared of any wrongdoing.
On July 10, 1999, Williams said, he was working off duty at Caribbean Tropics. Shortly after midnight, Michael Grimm walked in with a woman of Caribbean descent. The woman’s estranged husband, who is also of Caribbean descent, was at the club and confronted Grimm. The two men began to argue. Williams escorted Grimm away. Williams recalled, “He said to me, ‘Thanks a lot man, he don’t know who he’s fucking with.’ Then he said something frightening. ‘I’ll fuckin’ make him disappear where nobody will find him.’ ” (Grimm calls this allegation “insane.”) After that, Williams said, Grimm and the woman left, as did the husband.
Around 2:30 A.M., there was a commotion on the dance floor. According to Williams, somebody was shouting, “He’s got a gun!” Following a crowd into the club’s garage, Williams discovered that Grimm and the husband had returned, and Grimm was holding a weapon. Grimm was “carrying on like a madman,” Williams said. “He’s screaming, ‘I’m gonna fuckin’ kill him.’ So I said to him, ‘Who are you?’ He put the gun back in his waist and said, ‘I’m a fucking F.B.I. agent, ain’t nobody gonna threaten me.’ ” (Grimm said he only moved his gun from an ankle holster to his waistband.) The bouncer at the front door told Williams that, when he patted Grimm down and found his gun, Grimm had showed his F.B.I. identification. The bouncer then let him pass through the club’s metal detector.
Grimm left the club, but at 4 A.M., just before the club closed, he returned again, according to Williams, this time with another F.B.I. agent and a group of N.Y.P.D. officers. Grimm had told the police that he had been assaulted by the estranged husband and his friends. Williams said that Grimm took command of the scene, and refused to let the remaining patrons and employees leave. “Everybody get up against the fucking wall,” Williams recalled him saying. “The F.B.I. is in control.” Then Grimm, who apparently wanted to find the man with whom he’d had the original altercation, said something that Williams said he’ll never forget: “All the white people get out of here.”
Mr. Ratliff subsequently published another piece supporting his original reporting and refuting Mr. Grimm’s objections.
is a nonpartisan issue.
“Jesse Jackson Jr poster boy for today’s Democratic Party” could have been an equally valid post a little while ago.
Not excusing Grimm, clearly a dirt bag, just pointing out that over any given period the party of indicted members of Congress appears to even out. Not sure what the “left under a cloud” score is.
Here’s 20 years from Wikipedia.
How many of those Democrats were ex-FBI agents? How many were videotaped threatening kill a reporter? How many had the prior history of Mr. Grimm regarding such threats?
How many of those Democrats made shutting down the government a campaign priority? How many of those Democrats spent ANY portion of their public career explicitly opposing every action of a sitting president? How many of those Democrats made attacks on “illegal immigrants” a major campaign issue, while simultaneously exploiting them in a family business (and committing felony fraud while operating that business)?
I agree that corruption is a non-partisan issue. I hope you agree that, for example, a “misdemeanor campaign finance charge not related to the House Bank” is not remotely comparable to threatening to throw a reporter off the house balcony (0:23-0:28 in the embedded clip):
So your argument is that Democratic dirtbags are less virulent than Republican dirtbags? I could probably get on board with that. Republicans are probably more likely to have sleezy sex scandals,though Gerry Studds might have the all time record in that ( not counting Clinton of course).
It would seem to me that trying to make a partisan distinction here is going to be an uphill climb. In general, members of Congress get access to a level of influence they never had before and corruption gradually grows from small self-rationalizations to full-blown self-deception and criminality. It can and does happen.
I bet the strongest case one can make that ties Republicans to corruption is where the corruption becomes somewhat structural. Reflect, for example, on the State of Florida which out-sources many state functions without much regulatory power to keep private contractors in line. That creates a system of campaign contributions and regulatory capture that is the opposite of what good government progressives stand for.
This individual stuff, not so much. Props to merrimackguy for being factual.
It is worse than similar crimes in the private sector.
Big picture is that one of the things that sets us apart from about 3/4 of the world (and somewhat better than the other 1/4) is that our system is more fair- bribery, family connections or just who you know are considered either out of bounds or are regulated.
There are many examples of where things are legal but unseemly (just saw a list of ex-government people who work for Monsanto), but at least they are out in the open.
If we lose the idea of clean government, we lose a great deal.
This is why it is not a partisan issue. When it becomes “if it’s our guy it’s not that bad, when it’s your guy it’s a crime” then we are on a downward slope to real trouble.
Rooting out corruption can have a remarkable effect on improving quality of life. Finland, with less corruption than us, is able to issue and enforce sliding scale traffic tickets without them being overwhelmed by bribery or ticket fixing. That has led to some famously large fines but roads with very few fatalities.
I’ve angered many folks here because of my perception that a pervasive culture of corruption thrives within the Massachusetts Democratic Party. Our local Democratic officials are not nearly as aggressive in investigating and prosecuting corruption charges against fellow Democrats as I think they ought to be.
I don’t doubt that Democrats are as susceptible to venal corruption as Republicans. The Democratic Party did not, however, pack the Supreme Court with justices chosen because of their inclination to gut our campaign finance laws. The Democratic Party did not cheer Citizens United; the GOP did.
The Democratic Party, at least nationally, tends to be far more aggressive in combating political corruption than the GOP. When the GOP stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Democratic Party in advancing efforts to combat the crimes that Mr. Grimm is charged with, I’ll be more willing to give the GOP a pass in circumstances like this.
Mr. Grimm’s violent and bullying behavior was published in the New Yorker piece I cited prior to his election in 2012. Mr. Grimm, like all members of Congress, is up for re-election this fall. I think these indictments are fair game in that campaign.
Would-be GOP Vice President Sarah Palin said over the weekend that “Waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists”.
“Colorful” is one way to characterize these nut-cases. Seriously, how many Democrats even come close this kind of craziness? Threatening to throw reporters of a balcony? Joking about baptism AND terrorism, all in one one-liner?
It isn’t just the corruption. It seems to me that today’s GOP congressional delegation ranges from plain-old right-wing extremists all the way out to dangerously bat-shit crazy.
I think it’s time we Democrats started saying so.
I’d have to see some statistics. What I do know is that in MA when they have a chance the Democrats in charge of enforcing the rules seem to look the other way, or at least drag their feet. If the GOP ran anything around here maybe they would do the same. I only know that here it is bad and there’s no Republicans in sight.
Here’s some evidence of people who seemed to not have the book thrown at them.
Murray
McLaughlin
DiPaolo
Lantigua
John Barranco
I’m making the case that corruption is nonpartisan. If you’re going to make these blanket statements I think you should put up some numbers.
PS I don’t think changing the subject with Sarah Palin and crazy references advances this particular thread, nor is this about the Supreme Court and campaign finance laws. Coakley couldn’t even follow the campaign finances laws of MA and yet she most likely will be the nominee for governor and 99% of BMG posters will vote for her.
McLaughlin lost his pension (if memory serves). Lantigua is out of office. DiPaola shot himself.
1. McLaughlin got off lightly. DeNucci could have outed his shenanigans years ago but did not.
2. Lantigua investigation (OCPF, in Coakley’s hands now) has dragged on for years. OCPF is all over candidates for math errors and Lantigua was a major (major!) violator and nothing was done until a Globe article. Not even talking about his other misdeeds.
3. DiPaola was a well known campaign finance violator (cash events, come on!) and went unpunished. After he did himself in he still should have been castigated, but the case was just closed.
4. Supposedly Murray resigned to take another job. So resignation absolves you from misdeeds? I’ll have to remember that one.
..except Lantigua. If they really were a culture of corruption (I was replying to Tom), they would be able to remain in politics.
I enthusiastically agree with you about the other names you cite.
Mr. Murray was a victim, his principle misdeed was blocking Martha Coakley’s path to the corner office. As soon as he left politics, all was forgiven by Ms. Coakley.
And to argue that he’s just one person, the Party can’t prevent him from running if he qualifies, etc., is to scuttle the ‘poster boy’ meme of this thread.
All politicians are responsible for their own actions. I don’t think Jefferson with the bales of cash in his freezer is a typical Democrat, and I don’t try to make that argument to the public. This poster boy stuff is nothing but an attempt to slander by association, and it is a lie.
I don’t presume to speak for Tom, but I think part of his point is that there is something particularly galling about someone who:
Had a government role, and abused it (the FBI work).
Took another government role (Congress), and spent it working against government.
Continued to violate the law (just differently). And all this while wrapped in the rhetoric of “It’s your money.” Except for the part that’s his, I guess.
I’m trying to think of a Democratic equivalent … maybe if a powerful state rep bought himself a house with campaign money or something. 🙂
I guess the good news here is that he got caught.
Nope, not in Massachusetts.
Mr. Murray doesn’t belong on the list. Mr. McLaughlin’s own behavior and the lack of interest in the many Democratic Party beneficiaries of Mr. McLaughlin’s illegal activities exemplifies the culture of corruption I refer to.
I started this thread, I set its subject, and what I had in mind was the totally bat-shit crazy behavior of so MANY members of the GOP. Brazen corruption is an aspect of that craziness, but it is not by any means all or even most of what I’m talking about.
I’ve been spanked by kbusch about being insufficiently tolerant of cognitive dissonance and several related psychological interpretations with ten-dollar names. For me, the bottom line is the same — the GOP is filled with bat-shit crazy lunatics who reject any sort of rational analysis.
Denying the reality of climate change is no less delusional than insisting that Barack Obama fails to meet the qualifications for his office, that the Apollo missions to the moon were a hoax, that the 9/11 attacks were done by agents of the US government, or that the earth is only 6,000 years old.
Sarah Palin, lunatics on the Supreme Court, lunatics in Congress, lunatics in the Senate, lunatics on Fox — ALL of them from the GOP. THAT is the topic of this thread. I ask your forgiveness if my thread-starter was insufficiently clear about that point.
Speaking of clarity, what part of “Our local Democratic officials are not nearly as aggressive in investigating and prosecuting corruption charges against fellow Democrats as I think they ought to be” is hard for you to understand?
I share your perception that too many Democrats are doing wrong and NOT having the book thrown at them. I would exclude Mr. Murray from that list, and I would add Mr. DeLeo, Ms. Coakley, and a LONG LONG list of other Democrats. A good start is the very long list of mostly-Democratic legislators participating in the probation department scam. An excellent followup is the similarly long list of names in Mr. McLaughlin’s rolodex. He was among the most prolific fund-raisers in the state (despite such activity being illegal for him in the role he had). Funny how little interest Ms. Coakley has in THAT list. Ridding Massachusetts of the scourge of evil child pornographers is so much more photogenic.
I join you having zero tolerance for corruption of public officials, regardless of party affiliation.
Ms. Coakley’s casual disregard for the same campaign finance laws that she happily prosecuted potential opponents for exemplifies the reasons for my contempt for her. I will never cast a vote for Martha Coakley. EVER.
I could join in on that as well.
I just don’t consider Baker or Tisei crazy.
If there were a culture of corruption, one-party dominance would make it a lot worse. I think there might be a culture of “Ignore the problem until it’s really in our face,” (like Probation), but that’s not the same as a culture of corruption. It’s more like a culture of cynicism.
I’m only saying I doubt one party is better than the other in this regard.
Mass speakers, Illinois governors……
If corruption is truly bi-partisan (which I think it is), then one-party dominance is irrelevant.
If:
p is the likelihood of being corrupt, and
R is the number of Republican legislators, and
D is the number of Democratic legislators, and
L is the total number of legislators,
then
corrupt legislators = p*R + p*D = p*(R + D) = p*L
In my view, the way to correct the pervasive culture of corruption is:
1. Acknowledge its existence
2. Acknowledge its impact
3. Defeat, fire, or retire government officials who tolerate it
4. Elect, hire, and recruit government officials of EITHER party who have no tolerance for it
as to why MA Republicans seem crazier than Democrats.
There’s a subtraction that occurs on the Democratic side that doesn’t exist on the Republican side here in MA.
because they are, Blanche, they are!
MA GOP can’t get anyone to run for House & Senate or even statewide races. You’d have to be a little nutty just to undertake many of these races knowing you’re almost certainly going to lose. You’ll also be doing it almost by yourself and it most likely will cost you money.
If you’re a lot nutty then there’s nothing stopping you from getting the signatures and being on the ballot.
You’re going to be inexperienced and make mistakes. You’ll probably say stupid things.
Hence why that is the case. I can’t explain other states and their national figures. Rick Perry to me seems a bit nutty but he’s won election after election down there.
in my view that makes Grimm (who is the congressman for a fair number of my relatives) so typical of today’s Republicans. Merrimackguy is correct that too high a number of Congressional Democrats have been involved in shady and illegal dealings as well. It’s everything else about him.
First the Molinari machine, then Fosella, then this creep. Maybe a Dem this time Staten Island?
THE HOPELESSLY STUPID LED BY THE WILLFULLY CORRUPT.
Need we say more?
That’s all folks ! Good night and good luck.
Fred Rich LaRiccia
But one party has corrupt ideas.