New York Rep. Michael Grimm announced Monday he will resign from Congress, exactly one week after pleading guilty to a single count of tax fraud in Brooklyn federal court.
Grimm's resignation will take effect Jan. 5, according to an email statement.
"This decision is made with a heavy heart, as I have enjoyed a very special relationship and closeness with my constituents, whom I care about deeply," Grimm said.
The news comes one month after the congressman, a Republican who represents Staten Island, was elected to a third term.
While the timing of the resignation remains unclear, Grimm said he felt he could no longer be "100 percent effective in the next Congress."
He appeared contrite after his court apearance last week, telling reporters: "If you do something wrong, you can never get fully past it until you accept responsibility for it. And that's what I'm doing, taking full responsibility so I can close this chapter in my life."
But he remained adamant at the time that he would continue to serve.
"As long as I'm able to serve, I'm going to serve," he said. "As of right now, I'm still in a capacity to serve and that's exactly what I plan on doing."
In April, Grimm was named in a 20-count indictment that accused him of under-reporting the payroll and earnings of his Upper East Side restaurant, Healthalicious, which he ran from 2007 to 2010. He initially pleaded not guilty in federal court and was released on bond.
Prosecutors alleged Grimm employed a number of immigrant workers who did not have legal status to work in the U.S., and paid them in cash -- wages that were not reported to the government. He also allegedly "substantially under-reported" the restaurant's gross receipts, lowering its taxes.
Grimm said at the time he was being wrongly accused but asked House Speaker John Boehner to take him off the House Financial Services Committee until his federal case was resolved.
He admitted last week the allegations were true.
"I underreported the gross sales receipts of the restaurant to pay business expenses, including payroll for employees that were paid off the books," he said outside court.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-California) had called on Boehner to demand Grimm to step down from office in light of the guilty plea. Other Democrats have echoed Pelosi's call.
A felony conviction does not disqualify a person from serving in Congress, other than under the 14th Amendment or for certain treasonous acts.
If Grimm had refused to resign, it would have taken a rare vote by his fellow lawmakers to expel him from the House. The last member to be expelled was James Traficant, D-Ohio, who was kicked out of Congress in 2002.
Grimm, 44, made headlines in January after telling a NY1 reporter he wanted to throw the journalist off a balcony in the Capitol for asking about the campaign finance inquiry.
An independent advisory office recommended that the House Ethics Committee investigate the balcony incident. The ethics panel deferred its investigation into Grimm while the Justice Department case was ongoing.
If Grimm hadn't resigned, the panel was sure to address the case next year.
He is scheduled to be sentenced June 8.