In a move that was amazingly foolish and incredibly brazen, a former Queens lawmaker now under indictment on federal bribery charges called an FBI informant at the center of his corruption case — only minutes after he was released on $1 million bail — in a possible attempt to obstruct justice, stunned officials said yesterday.
Jimmy Meng, 68, a former state assemblyman whose daughter, Assemblywoman Grace Meng, is running for Congress, reached out to the associate shortly after walking out of the Brooklyn federal courthouse on Tuesday after his arrest by the FBI — even though laws and bail restrictions bar contact with witnesses in his influence-peddling case.
“Mr. Meng, at approximately 5:48 p.m. yesterday … contacted the cooperating witness in the case. That is extremely troubling,” Assistant US Attorney Marisa Seifan said during a court hearing.
“We also believe that an associate of [Meng’s] also reached out to the cooperating witness,” Seifan said.
After hearing of Meng’s efforts to speak with the informant, Magistrate Judge Cheryl Pollak told the former Queens pol that such conduct violates bail restrictions and could be tantamount to witness tampering or obstruction of justice.
“If you do it again,” Pollak scolded, “you’re going to go into jail.”
Asked if he understood the warning, Meng whispered, “Yes, yes,” and hung his head low.
Grace Meng said yesterday that she was “independent of my father.”