In an ominous sign for disgraced ex-Rep. Michael Grimm, a former girlfriend was unexpectedly hit with a three-month prison term for illegal campaign fundraising even after prosecutors declined to press for jail time.
Judge Sterling Johnson sent Diana Durand, 48, to prison for using straw donors to raise $10,000 for Grimm's 2010 campaign for the Staten Island congressional seat. The two were romantically linked at the time.
Her stunned attorney, Stuart Kaplan, suggested that the surprise sentence could portend a similarly stiff term for Grimm. "I would read between the lines," he said. "It could send a very disturbing signal."
Noting that the single mother of a 16-year-old boy had never committed a crime before her entanglement with Grimm, the feds didn't object to probation in pre-sentencing submissions.
But without explaining his rationale, Johnson ignored that position and sentenced Durand to three months behind bars in addition to a year's probation and a $10,000 fine.
"This is a very perplexing case as all sentences are," Johnson said. "I think that a custodial sentence is necessary."
Michael GrimmPhoto: Steve White
Johnson also used tough language in warning Durand not to run afoul of the law after her release. "You will have the sword of Damocles over your head," he said of her probation.
Kaplan blasted Johnson outside of court.
"This is clearly a miscarriage of justice," he said as his shaken client collected herself in a courthouse bathroom. "She's devastated."
Grimm, a former FBI agent turned politician, resigned from Congress in December after pleading guilty to tax evasion stemming from his former ownership of an Upper East Side health food restaurant.
He is expected to lobby for probation at his upcoming sentencing in front of Judge Pamela Chen.
Durand, of Houston, did not comment outside of court and will surrender at a late date.
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