Ex-Congressman Anthony Weiner rebuilds life after jail for sex offence, lands CEO role in recycled glass company
Disgraced former politician Anthony Weiner is trying to rebuild his life and he is doing so by running a company that makes countertops out of broken glass. It’s symbolic as the former Democratic Congressman is trying to pick up the pieces of his own shattered life.
Weiner, 56, was once a heavyweight politician who represented New York’s 9th Congressional District between 1999 and 2011 but serial sexting to a teenage girl cost him his political career and he landed up in prison. He was released in February last year, three months earlier than his sentence of 21 months on grounds of good behavior and now has been named as the CEO of IceStone, which has a factory in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, the New York Post reported. “One of the amazing things about IceStone countertops, is that since people throw away all kinds of glass, there is almost an unlimited array of different colors we can use in our recycled glass creations,” he wrote.
IceStone believes in giving 'second chances'
Perhaps nothing could have summarized better Weiner’s new beginning as IceStone, which works on second creations, says in its website its “commitment to second chances goes beyond our factory and our products.”
“We hire the homeless, refugees and train the formerly incarcerated and ensure that everyone gets paid a living wage and has access to subsidized health insurance and a voice in the company,” the website further adds. Weiner expressed his gratefulness in a brief email statement that he wrote to The Post saying IceStone is “an amazing company that has been through a lot and is hanging on and doing that rarest of things — manufacturing in New York City.”
Weiner, who was earlier married to Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin but got separated in 2017, quit his seat in the Congress following the 2011 scandal. He tried to make a comeback when he ran for the New York City mayor’s post in 2013 but there again, another sexting scandal where he used the online alias “Carlos Danger” dashed his ambitions.
Abedin reportedly stood by her former husband despite the scandal but left her after The Post came up with shocking news that showed the former politician sending a picture of his crotch that also showed their toddler son Jordan Zain lying by his side. Abedin, who is of Indian and Pakistani descent, filed for divorce hours after Weiner pleaded guilty to sending obscene material to a minor but withdrew the case from court in early 2018 so that their son did not face an unpleasant experience.
IceStone owner said he wanted to help Weiner
IceStone owner Dal LaManga, who founded renowned beauty brand Tweezerman decades ago, told The Post that he knew Weiner for years and also visited the latter during his days in the prison. “I knew him from the political world. He talked me out of running for mayor, which was good, and we developed a relationship,” LaManga told The Post over phone.
“And then he got sucked into that whole thing. I wanted to help him any way I could. He served his time and coming out is tough. And so I said, ‘Can you work for IceStone?’ because he knows everybody in the city and the company is in Brooklyn.” LaManga, who hired Weiner five months ago in a bid to see him turning around IceStone’s fortune, said the latter is a better CEO than him (LaManga served as the CEO till January this year) and he is convinced that the former Congressman has overcome his shoddy past.