6 BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP • MAY 13 - MAY 19, 2016 Former Rep. Michael Grimm released from prison one month early BY MEAGHAN MCGOLDRICK [email protected] Former Congressmember Michael Grimm has been released from federal prison one month early, according to reports. Grimm – who got considerably less than the sentence prescribed by federal sentencing guidelines, 18 to 24 months — was released seven months into his eight-month sentence under the condition that he continue the rest of it under house arrest. U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen – who sentenced Grimm in July, 2015 – also served the ex-pol a year’s probation and 200 hours of community service. Before his guilty plea in December of 2014, Grimm — who represented Staten Island and portions of Brooklyn from 2011 until early January, 2015, and had just won reelection to a third term — faced a 20-count federal indictment, including multiple counts of mail fraud, wire fraud, perjury, one count of conspiring to defraud the United States, one count of impeding the Internal Revenue Service, one count of health care fraud, one count of engaging in a pattern or practice of hiring and continuing to employ unauthorized aliens, and one count of obstructing an official proceeding. All the charges arose out of a business Grimm owned before being elected to Congress called Healthalicious, a small fast food eatery in Manhattan. He was also charged with under-reporting income at the restaurant by over $1 million, and paying employees hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages “off the books.” Grimm’s lawyers had asked the court to go easy on him, and spare him jail time; prosecutors, on the other hand, had requested a 30-month sentence. At his sentencing, the former Bay Ridge elected apologized for his transgression, saying that he had, “made bad decisions that I’ll regret for the rest of my life,” because he feared failing. Grimm began serving his sentence in September of last year. The seat he left vacant was filled by current Congressmember Daniel Donovan, who was elected to serve the 11th Congressional District in a May, 2015 special election. In an exclusive interview with NY1, Grimm – who is only allowed to leave his home with permission from authorities – spoke of plans to pen a book about his life, as well as his current search for a new job to pay off legal fees and restitution. “I’m really glad to be putting it past me,” he told NY1. Additional reporting contributed by Helen Klein. BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/file photo Former Congressmember Michael Grimm. Bklyn Designs boasts innovative exhibitors BY ANNA SPIVAK [email protected] A weekend of fun, design, innovation and all things Brooklyn awaited those in attendance at Bklyn Designs, a three-day design event – held from May 6 to 8 – founded by the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce in an effort to spotlight the borough’s flourishing art, architecture and design markets. The Brooklyn Expo Center (72 Noble Street) was the backdrop for the anticipated design showcase, featuring Bklyn Designs showcased some of the design talent in the borough. some of the borough’s best furniture, lighting and home accessories, all packed into three days of collective exhibits, popup lounges, installations, hands-on demos and conferences. The appeal of the juried exhibition is that all of exhibitors make or design their products in the borough. “It’s a growing industry in Brooklyn and we are showcasing makers that are actually making their products in Brooklyn,” said Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Carlo Scissura. “It’s an opportunity for them to meet press, to meet buyers from different stores across the world and then to meet consumers, so they can sell their goods and really showcase the excitement of ‘made in Brooklyn,’ which is what this is all about.” Along with the exhibition, Bklyn Designs boasted a hefty lineup of programming including a CEU-accredited course on color with Benjamin Moore; 10 panel discussions on interior design, architecture, fabrication, sustainability, virtual reality and art collecting; workshops on BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Anna Spivak drawing, illustration, 3D printing, tapestry weaving, screen printing and macramé; on-site consultations and designer portfolio reviews; and chef demos and satellite talks on living, designing and entertaining. While the event is focused on getting the names of Brooklyn designers out there, more than one are about giving back to the community they started in. Legion Lighting for instance, in a collaboration with Smash Industries, was exhibiting its their Artisan Series Subway Car Lighting fixtures – detailed, one-of-akind train models designed by Brooklyn artists. “We put them in the hands of artists and they can pretty much do whatever they want with them,” a representative for the series said. “They can resell them, or, we have a program called trains for gains where we give a portion of the profit to the neighborhood.” This year’s other exhibitors included Evan Z. Crane, Naula, Pezzi, Zieba New York, Lisa Levy Industries, Come out to the Coast, Mark Jupiter, Wax Rax, Talbot & Yoon, CBR Studio and more.
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