Earlier this morning, The New York Times reported that Staten Island Congressman Michael Grimm amended a financial disclosure to report that he took a privately-funded trip to Cypress in June of last year, paid for by Peter Papanicolaou, the president of the Cyprus Federation of America. This amendment raised eyebrows because it came a day after Mr. Papanicolaou was arrested in Brooklyn under federal corruption charges.

Now, Mr. Grimm’s Democratic opponent Mark Murphy is stoking the fires.

“If he refuses toaddress the latest revelations about his shady relationships and unethical behavior, he will continue to give voters reasons to think he is fundamentally unfit to serve in Congress, where no one will take him seriously,” Mr. Murphy said in a statement. “The people Staten Island and Brooklyn demand honest and representation.” Read More

Earlier today, Staten Island congressional candidate Mark Murphy held a press conference calling the incumbent representative, Michael Grimm, to task for failing to answer his questions about ongoing federal investigations into various parts of Mr. Grimm’s past. Subsequently, Mr. Grimm’s campaign hit back, hard.

“This California carpetbagger has a lot of questions about investigations but he should just ask his own father, whom everyone knows is running his campaign, because his father disgraced Staten Island when he was found guilty and sent to federal prison for his role in Operation Abscam, one of the most shameful events in the history of the US Congress,” former Staten Island Borough President Guy Molinari, one of Mr. Grimm’s chief political advisers, said in a statement. Read More