He also accused Weiner of making up the story about going to the FBI.

Grimm told the Advance, a newspaper on Staten Island, that if Weiner really did hear such an explosive charge in the fall of 2010, he surely would have gone public to keep the congressional seat in the borough, then held by a Democrat, from falling into Republican hands.

"No rational person would believe these politically motivated fantasies," he said.

It isn't clear whether Weiner's report to the FBI in 2010 resulted in any action. Grimm is a former FBI agent who spent a decade working for the bureau before leaving to pursue private business interests.

The FBI is already pursuing a related investigation involving Pinto's congregation.

Last year, Pinto accused one of his former aides, Ofer Biton, of stealing funds from the congregation and then conspiring with a public relations executive, Ronn Torossian, to blackmail him into making more payments to put a stop to unfavorable stories about him in the Jewish and Israeli press.