News

STATEN ISLAND, NY - Late this morning, campaign staff arrived at Congressman Michael Grimm’s Campaign HQ located at 2582 Hylan Boulevard to find the office vandalized and burglarized.  Two large chunks of cement and smaller rocks had been thrown through the windows, breaking three 4’x8’ vertical window panes. Police believe this was a cover-up for the burglary in which the suspect corrupted and erased the hard-drive of the campaign computer server, which contains confidential campaign files and polling data.

This follows recent repeated thefts of “Grimm for Congress” lawn signs from the yards of supporters as well as the theft of a small billboard.  In one instance, a video was recorded of a middle-aged woman walking a dog and stealing signs. The Grimm campaign plans to release the video to the pubic so that she can be identified and prosecuted.

Rep. Grimm said, “This is a disgraceful act of cowardice that is beneath the people I represent.  Here in Staten Island, we are a family community, which is why, despite our differences in opinions and political views, we have never seen an attack on a campaign escalate to this level.  In 2010, campaigns across the nation were fueled with high levels of passion, yet even then we never saw anything as dirty or disgraceful as this. Even though this is not an official office, this heinous act represents an assault on democracy and the political process, more so than it does on me as person or a candidate.  I do believe this is a politically motivated crime, and will continue to work closely with the NYPD in identifying and prosecuting those responsible.”

In addition to the NYPD, U.S. Capitol Police have also been notified.  The Grimm campaign keeps the personal information of its volunteers, such as addresses and phone numbers, at a separate location, so that information was not stolen or compromised. Police have no known suspects at this time.

Congressman Michael Grimm (R-NY) is running for re-election to Congress in New York’s 11th Congressional District.