Boehner: Resignation of NY Rep. Grimm ‘honorable’

WASHINGTON (AP) – House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday that N.Y. Rep. Michael Grimm made the right decision by resigning from Congress after pleading guilty to tax evasion charges.

Boehner, R-Ohio, said that Grimm’s decision was “honorable,” adding that he knows Grimm made his decision “with the best interests of his constituents and the institution (of the House) in mind.” Boehner said he appreciated Grimm’s service to the House.

Grimm, a New York Republican, had vowed to stay in Congress as long as he could, even after his guilty plea last week. But he said Monday night that he plans to resign effective Jan. 5.

Grimm also said he did not believe he could be fully effective in the new Congress and needed to start the next chapter of his life.

“The events which led to this day did not break my spirit, nor the will of the voters,” Grimm said. “However, I do not believe that I can continue to be 100 percent effective in the next Congress.”

Grimm, of Staten Island, said he was resigning out of respect for the office and the people he represents.

Grimm’s pleaded guilty last week to aiding in the filing of a false tax return came after he was re-elected to a third two-year term in November.

The new Congress is scheduled to convene Jan. 6, and Grimm’s presence would have been a distraction for Republicans who will control both the House and the Senate.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and the Democratic National Committee had called on Grimm to resign.

A former Marine and FBI agent with support from former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Grimm was elected to Congress in 2010, scoring an upset win over first-term Democratic Rep. Michael McMahon.

According to an indictment, the tax fraud began in 2007 after Grimm retired from the FBI and began investing in a small Manhattan restaurant called Healthalicious.

The indictment accused him of underreporting more than $1 million in wages and receipts to evade payroll, income and sales taxes, partly by paying immigrant workers, some of them in the country illegally, in cash.

“The congressman fully embraces and accepts his responsibility for his actions,” his lawyer, Stuart N. Kaplan, said in a statement Tuesday, adding that Grimm “shows great humility in moving forward for himself, as well as his constituents, to resign.”

Grimm’s sentencing is scheduled for June 8. Prosecutors said a range of 24 to 30 months in prison would be appropriate, while the defense estimated the appropriate sentence as between 12 and 18 months.

After his court appearance last week, Grimm said he planned to stay in Congress. “As long as I’m able to serve, I’m going to serve,” he said.

He also apologized for his actions. “I should not have done it, and I am truly sorry for it,” he said.

In his statement Monday, Grimm said he made his “very difficult decision … with a heavy heart” after much thought and prayer.