Former New York congressman is paralyzed after falling from a horse

NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm, a New York Republican who resigned from Congress after a tax fraud conviction, is paralyzed from the chest down after being thrown from a horse during a polo tournament, according to raising friends money to pay for the ex-lawmaker’s medical care.

Grimm, 54, suffered the devastating injury in September and is now being treated at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in New Jersey, where late actor Christopher Reeve was treated after a similar horse accident in 1995, according to Vincent Ignizio, a friend of Grimm. who is a former member of the New York City Council.

Grimm had been an avid polo player for years, Ignizio said. “It was a passion of his and at the end of September he had a tragic accident,” said Ignizio, who has created a GoFundMe account to pay for Grimm’s medical care.

Grimm, a former Marine and FBI agent, represented Staten Island and part of Brooklyn in Congress from 2011 to 2015.

A federal investigation into Grimm’s fundraising that began in 2012 ultimately resulted in a 20-count indictment against a restaurant Grimm operated in Manhattan. Prosecutors said he underreported wages and income to the government and filed false tax documents.

Grimm won re-election in 2014 despite the indictment, but pleaded guilty to one count of tax fraud the following month. He resigned from Congress in January 2015 and served eight months in prison.

Grimm attempted a comeback in 2018, but lost a Republican primary for his old district to incumbent Rep. Dan Donovan, who then lost the general election to Democrat Max Rose.

Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis defeated Rose in 2020 and has represented the district since.

Grimm recently worked as an anchor at Newsmax.

The GoFundMe for Grimm’s medical care had raised $118,000 as of Monday afternoon. “His ultimate goal is to make himself walk again,” Ignizio said.