Congressman Who Threatened Journalist Resigns Over Tax Fraud (VIDEO)

After threatening to throw a journalist over a balcony earlier this year for raising questions about campaign finance abuse, U.S. Representative Michael Grimm will step down from his congressional seat following a guilty plea in relation to falsifying tax returns.

“If you ever do that to me again I’ll throw you off this [expletive] balcony,” Grimm whispered to Michael Scotto, who asked about an FBI investigation that implicated Grimm in promising green cards in exchange for campaign donations.

“I’ll break you in half. Like a boy,” Grimm mutters to Scotto in a video released by NY1 News.

No stranger to controversy, Grimm also came under fire for reportedly waving a gun around a Queen’s nightclub during his time in law enforcement.

Last week, Grimm pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion involving fraudulent tax returns he filed for the Healthalicous restaurant he co-owned before running for office. Grimm signed a plea in which he admitted to lying under oath in 2013, concealing over $900,000 in receipts, and failing to report “off-the-books” payments to undocumented immigrants he employed.

While Grimm faces a possible three years in prison after sentencing on June 8, he released a statement Monday evening promising to step down from his congressional seat.

“After much thought and prayer, I have made the very difficult decision to step down from Congress effective January 5, 2015,” the statement reads. “I do not believe I that I can continue to be 100 [percent] effective in the next Congress.”

The decision comes just days after Grimm told reporters he would “absolutely not” resign, and many attribute the reversal to a talk with House Speaker John Boehner behind closed doors.

"I do not believe I can continue to be 100 [percent] effective in the next Congress" -Rep. Michael Grimm

© REUTERS / Stephanie Keith

While Boehner could not have kept Grimm from being sworn in, House rules do state that a representative convicted of a crime and facing a prison sentence of more than two years should not participate until winning re-election.

While Speaker Boehner never publicly called for Grimm to resign, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi insisted that “Congressman Grimm resign immediately.”

Grimm’s financial controversies are just one struggle Speaker Boehner faces as the new Congress convenes. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise admitted on Monday to speaking at a white supremacist gathering in 2002.

Possible replacements for the 11th District that Grimm represented – which covers Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn – include Staten Island District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan, former Representative Michael E. McMahon, and Assemblyman Michael J. Cusick.