The Staten Island political world is buzzing with talk that a former Republican congressman may want his old job back. NY1 Political Reporter Grace Rauh has that story.
For months now, there has been talk that Michael Grimm would try to get back into politics. But in recent days, he seems to be more definitive about his plans.
Sources told NY1 that Grimm is beginning to let a small number of political leaders on Staten Island know that he intends to run for Congress.
Any campaign would be a challenge for someone in Grimm's position; he spent seven months in federal prison for tax fraud, and he was released in May of 2016.
Grimm also made headlines for threatening a NY1 reporter, Michael Scotto, with physical violence in 2014, saying he would throw Scotto off a balcony and break him in half while they spoke at the Capitol in Washington.
I spoke with Grimm on Wednesday afternoon and he insisted he has not made any decisions yet on his political future.
But he did say that there are people who would like to see him run, and he said he plans to return to public office one day.
Grimm's entry into the race would mean a Republican primary challenge for incumbent Congressman Dan Donovan.
A spokeswoman for Donovan declined to comment Wednesday.
There are a number of Democrats planning to challenge Donovan; the Staten Island Advance reported Wednesday that there are now five Democrats running for the Congressional seat.