Craig Carton returns to radio, says 'I'm not guilty' of fraud charges 

Craig Carton, whose trial on charges of running an alleged ticket-resale Ponzi scheme is set to begin in October, returned to New York radio Thursday morning as a guest on WABC radio’s "Bernie and Sid in the morning" and vowed he would prevail after his side of the story has been told.  

Carton, 48, who resigned from WFAN’s "Boomer and Carton’" show last September,  told Sid Rosenberg, a former WFAN host, "I recognize that it's an uphill battle, cause they typically win... but you hear all the time about how they have a 98% conviction rate. Well,  that includes plea bargains. When you plea, you’re pleading guilty to something that counts as a conviction.  I'm not pleaing to anything because I firmly believe that when the facts come out you'll see that I was running a legitimate legal business...I think my case stands up on its own merit." Prosecutors allege that Carton defrauded investors in a plan to resell concert tickets, then used the money to pay off other investors, gambling debts and personal loans. 

As for what he faces in court, Carton said, "It's very scary,  it's the fight of my life but I'll tell you what I said the day I got arrested, which was September 6th almost a year ago to the day, and that is I'm not guilty. I look forward to my opportunity to lay it out for everybody. I wish I could have, I regret that I didn't early on, but when you hire good lawyers and they tell you what to do there are times to shut your mouth and do what the lawyers tell you to do."

Carton took a shot at WFAN, saying Boomer Esiason's show with Gregg Giannotti "is not as good as it was. When I left, it opened a strong void on morning radio ins New York." Carton also chided Mike Francesa for charging fans to obtain his new app.

Carton has a podcast entitled “Hello, My name is Craig,” but hopes to return to commercial radio. "When it comes out that I’m exonerated and the jury says not guilty, why wouldn’t you want to bring back the guy that was (part of) the most listened to morning show in New York?"