Albert J. Pirro Jr., a former business partner of Donald Trump and the ex-husband of Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, was pardoned by the departing president on his last day in office at the end of a flurry of clemency.
Pirro, 73, who has worked with Trump on real estate deals, was convicted of tax fraud.
The lobbyist and real estate developer and his brother, Anthony, were found guilty of federal tax evasion in June 2000. They were accused of deducting more than $1 million of Albert Pirro’s personal expenses as business write-offs, allowing him to reduce his tax bills by about $400,000 in the 1990s.
Pirro was sentenced to 29 months in prison and released in May 2002, according to federal records. His brother was ordered to spend 37 months behind bars and left custody in September 2003.
Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of more than 140 people on the eve of his departure, including a number of celebrities, former lawmakers, executives and people connected to him, his family or members of Congress. He granted the full pardon to Pirro about an hour before Joe Biden was
Trump has been criticized for extending clemency to allies such as former campaign chief Paul Manafort and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, although he has issued fewer pardons than other recent presidents.
