Ex-Rep Michael Grimm Asks Judge To Postpone Sentence Two Weeks For Surgery
Former congressman Michael Grimm requested last week that his eight-month prison sentence be pushed off for two weeks so that he can have surgery.
A lawyer representing the disgraced politician did not specify the nature of the procedure in a letter sent to the judge who presided over the fraud case, reports the Staten Island Advance:
Grimm, who’s slated to start his eight-month prison sentence on Sept. 10, has also learned where he’ll be serving his time, at the McKean Federal Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania, according to a filing by one of his attorneys Thursday.
“Mr. Grimm asks for the Court’s authorization to briefly delay his self-surrender by an additional twelve (12) days in order to have a surgical procedure performed. The first available appointment for this procedure is September 9, 2015,” wrote Grimm’s lawyer, Daniel Rashbaum, in a letter to U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen.
“The procedure entails a brief healing period and a second appointment to have sutures removed,” the letter continues.
Prosecutors do not oppose Grimm’s request and it is up to the judge to approve it, according to the outlet. If Chen consents, Grimm would begin his sentence on September 22.
In December 2014, Grimm pleaded guilty to tax fraud, admitting to hiring undocumented workers and concealing close to $1 million in revenue in relation to a restaurant he owned before going into office, as well as lying under oath. Grimm resigned from office several days later.
Grimm was sentenced to eight months in prison on July 17. He has also been ordered to pay $149,000 in restitution to three government agencies.
Grimm’s lawyers had also asked that the ex-congressman be housed at Fairton Federal Correctional Institution, which is located 120 miles from Staten Island, so that Grimm’s mother could visit him regularly — a request that was apparently denied. McKean is located in in Lewis Run, Pennsylvania, 330 miles northwest of Staten Island, reports the Advance.