Tierney was charged with aiding and abetting the filing of false tax returns for her brother, Robert Eremian, a notorious fugitive who is wanted on numerous charges of money laundering and illegal gambling. She pleaded guilty to the charges in October.
Surge Desk has five facts about the congressman's wife who has family ties to crime.
1. She didn't launder money -- she just managed paperwork
The Boston Globe reports that Tierney took over her brother's financial affairs in Massachusetts after he fled to Antigua in 1996. Among other things, she helped his children and their mother manage their bills. She also managed Eremian's $7 million bank account and passed financial information to his tax preparer, resulting in the fraudulent filings.
2. Her brother may have deceived her
After her guilty plea, Tierney's ex-husband, attorney Alan Chew, said he did not believe she broke the law intentionally. "I'm sure she was an innocent dupe of her brother," he said. Chew added that Eremian was "not a very nice guy."
3. Her husband has had a long and successful political career
John Tierney has served in Congress since 1997. Before that, he worked as an attorney in Salem, Mass. He managed to get re-elected in 2010 despite controversy generated by his wife's criminal charges. The Tierneys married in 1997, shortly after John was sworn in for the first time.
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4. She's a jewelry designerHer designs feature Swarovski crystals, freshwater pearls, semiprecious stones and other fine materials. Tierney sells her wares at local boutiques like Sophia's of Salem.
5. Her brother has quite a record
Eremian had his first brush with the law in a 1971 motor-vehicle violation. This was followed by a marijuana charge in 1978. Later Robert -- along with an older brother, Daniel -- was indicted on 442 counts of racketeering, witness tampering, money laundering and more. After a lengthy investigation and legal process, in 2002 Robert pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of tax evasion. He paid $58,422 in restitution and received two years of probation; despite that, he got permission to return to Antigua, where the Department of Justice says he operated an illegal gambling business called Sports Offshore.
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