WASHINGTON, D.C. – President Donald Trump reportedly issued 143 pardons in his final hours in the White House, and one of the recipients was ex-Ocean GOP Chairman George Gilmore.
Gilmore had been in the process of appealing his 2019 federal convictions for failing to pay payroll taxes and making false statements on a loan application.
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Sentenced to a year and a day in prison in addition to probation, the GOP powerbroker had been free while he exhaused his up until now unsuccessful efforts to overturn his convictions.
Gilmore is a close of ally of Trump campaign manager and New Jersey native Bill Stepien.
“Words cannot express my gratitude and humility at being granted a full pardon by the President of the United States,” said Gilmore in a statement. “When it came to his attention, President Trump recognized the injustice of my conviction and used the power of his office to right that wrong. Bill Stepien, my wonderful colleague and dear friend, advocated tirelessly for me. He went directly to the President and made an impassioned plea that I be pardoned. And my extraordinary lawyer, Kevin Marino—who gutted the Government’s case at trial and vowed never to rest until we won—wrote my successful pardon application at the eleventh hour. I owe my life to the President, to Bill Stepien, and to Kevin Marino and his partners at Marino, Tortorella & Boyle, who worked relentlessly to achieve this just result. I am forever indebted to these special people, to everyone who supported my pardon application, and to my loving family, who stood by me throughout this entire ordeal.”
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