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Feds: Weldon pal trashed evidence

A Pennsylvania lobbyist and close friend of former Republican U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon tossed her BlackBerry into an Arby's trashcan and tried to get rid of subpoenaed documents to throw the FBI off her trail, according to federal prosecutors.

A Pennsylvania lobbyist and close friend of former Republican U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon tossed her BlackBerry into an Arby's trashcan and tried to get rid of subpoenaed documents to throw the FBI off her trail, according to federal prosecutors.

It didn't work.

Cecelia Grimes was charged yesterday with destroying evidence in the influence-peddling investigation of Weldon that became public in October 2006, ending his 20-year reign as Delaware County's congressman and crushing his dreams of becoming chairman of the powerful House Armed Services Committee.

A plea agreement hearing for Grimes is set for July 25 in U.S. District Court in Washington, when she is expected to plead guilty to the charges.

Grimes' lawyers said in a statement that she is "extremely remorseful for any mistake she has made in reference to this investigation," but that "any suggestion that Ms. Grimes engaged in any inappropriate, illegal or improper conduct with regard to her role as a lobbyist is incorrect and unfounded."

A source who knows both Grimes and Weldon confirmed to the Daily News yesterday that Grimes' was a close friend of Weldon.

"They were a couple," the source said.

The source confirmed that Grimes traveled with Weldon to London in January 2004 when he met with the son of Libyan president Moammar Gadhafi.

The fact that Weldon and Grimes had a long-running relationship raises additional questions about the assistance that Weldon provided to Grimes' clients when he was in office.

The Los Angeles Times reported in January 2006 that Weldon, who served as vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, had taken steps to help at least three clients of Grimes' Media-based lobbying firm.

Grimes did not respond to a phone message or e-mail yesterday, and Weldon, who is attending the Farnborough International Airshow in England, could not be reached.

On October 16, 2006 - the same day that the feds raided the homes and business office of Weldon's daughter and the former chairman of the Springfield Republican Party - FBI agents interviewed Grimes about her contacts with Weldon and served her with two grand-jury subpoenas for lobbying records dating back several years, according to court documents filed yesterday.

The portion of the investigation that involves Grimes focused on whether companies paid her firm in exchange for Weldon's support of their federal appropriations requests, prosecutors said in court filings that identify Weldon only as "Representative A."

Grimes produced some documents, authorities say, but she dumped other subpoenaed documents - including an invitation to a Weldon campaign event and check stubs from clients identified in grand-jury subpoenas - into her trash cans.

FBI agents "surreptitiously retrieved" the evidence from the trash cans before the garbage truck arrived, court documents state.

In addition to Grimes, the government is reportedly investigating whether Weldon used his congressional seat to steer nearly $1 million in foreign lobbying contracts to a firm run by his daughter, Karen, and then-Springfield GOP boss Charles Sexton Jr., who was a senior adviser to his campaign.

A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment yesterday on the investigation.

Weldon has previously denied any wrongdoing, and his campaign staffers in 2006 blamed the investigation on "left-wing liberal activists" who were trying to oust him from his 7th District seat.

Since losing the 2006 election to retired Navy Admiral Joe Sestak, Weldon founded the Washington, D.C.-based consulting business Jenkins Hill International and holds high-ranking positions at Exton-based Defense Solutions and Dynamic Defense Materials Co., a Delaware County firm that contributed to his re-election campaign. *

The Associated Press contributed to this report.