A notorious New York drug dealer who was pardoned by the president Donald Trumphas just been arrested again for allegedly beating his wife and 75-year-old father-in-law, court records show.
Jonathan Braun41, was arrested on Long Island after an argument with his wife at their Atlantic Beach home turned violent.
Court documents reviewed by The New York Post show that he was chasing her down the stairs when his father-in-law tried to intervene, and Braun punched the elderly man twice in the head.
Braun’s wife told investigators that he had thrown her to the ground on two separate occasions, once in July and again on August 12, after which “He hit her in the head several times, causing her considerable pain.bruises and dizziness in the arms, legs and head,” records show.
The suspect was charged with a number of charges related to the alleged domestic disputes, the most serious of which is second-degree assault for intentionally causing physical injury to a person 65 years of age or older by someone 10 years younger.
He was also charged with a pair of misdemeanor assault counts stemming from the alleged attacks on his wife.
He was released on bail
Braun was separately charged with petty larceny, stemming from a criminal complaint that he passed through EZ-Pass readers at the Atlantic Bridge toll booth without paying about 40 times between May 31 and July 10, accumulating 160 dollars in unpaid tolls.
He allegedly removed the license plates from his white Lamborghini Urus and black Ferrari convertible to evade detection by dodging tolls.
Braun pleaded not guilty and was released on his own recognizance by Judge Arieh D. Schulman, who denied prosecutors’ request for bail.
“My office requested that bail be set at $35,000.. The presiding judge released the defendant on his own recognizance. We respectfully disagree with the judge’s decision,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly told The Post.
He was serving a 10-year sentence for drug trafficking.
Braun had served less than three years of a 10-year prison sentence when Trump commuted his sentence on January 20, 2021his last day in office.
A White House press release issued the same day detailed the pardons or commutations the outgoing commander in chief issued to dozens of people.
“President Trump commuted Jonathan Braun’s sentence. Mr. Braun has served 5 years of a 10-year sentence for conspiracy to import marijuana and commit money laundering,” reads part of the explanatory statement.
“Upon his release, Mr. Braun will seek employment to support his wife and children.”
Braun was arrested in 2010 for orchestrating a large-scale marijuana distribution network that smuggled millions of dollars worth of marijuana from Canada. At the height of the operation, grossed about $6 million a weekprosecutors said in court documents at the time.
Threats in intimidation
He also made a fortune running shady financial firms that charged usurious interest rates on loans to small businesses (sometimes as high as 1,000%), often by intimidating or threatening clients with physical violence to collect their debts.
In one case, Braun repeatedly called a business owner and threatened himafter a bank blocked a $10,000 debit from the company’s account.
“I know where you live. I know where your mother lives,” Braun allegedly told her. “I will take your daughters away from you” and “You have no idea what I am going to do.”
On another occasion, he allegedly told another customer: “Be thankful you’re not in New York, because your family would find you floating in the Hudson.”.
The second-degree assault charge against Braun alone could carry a sentence of up to seven years if convicted. His next court appearance is scheduled for Aug. 29.
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