The federal investigation into the campaign finances of Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm hit a snag yesterday when an influential rabbi who is a key cooperator in the probe was detained in Israel on unrelated troubles of his own.
The feds had been relying on the assistance of Israel-based Rabbi Yishayahu Yosef Pinto in investigating allegedly improper contributions made to Grimm’s 2010 campaign by members of Pinto’s Upper East Side congregation.
But Pinto and his wife have been arrested and held by Israeli authorities on charges of money laundering and attempting to bribe a police officer, according to Israeli media reports.
Sources told The Post the feds are also working to flip former Pinto aide and Grimm fund-raiser Ofer Biton, who is in court today for allegedly making false statements about the source of a $400,000 loan, and may be facing additional charges.