Carton finalizing deal to return to WFAN after serving prison term

Newsday reports Craig Carton is close to sealing the deal which will put him back on the airwaves with WFAN.

Barring a late contractual glitch, WFAN likely will rehire Craig Carton in the coming weeks and install him in afternoon drive time, by early January at the latest and perhaps sooner than that, sources said.

Carton’s return will come as no surprise. His career has been trending in that direction ever since his release from federal prison.

Carton resigned from WFAN shortly after his arrest in 2017. He was convicted for his role in a Ponzi-like ticket brokering scheme in November 2018 after misappropriating investment funds to pay off gambling debts. Carton was sentenced to threeand-a-half years in federal prison in April 2019 and was released in June 2020 on good behavior.

News of Carton’s potential WFAN return surfaced before HBO’s “Wild Card: The Downfall of a Radio Loudmouth,” which aired earlier this month. At the end of the documentary is a final scene informing the viewer Carton has “negotiated a radio comeback” and “vows to be as outrageous as ever on air.”

Carton’s anticipated return is expected to lead to more musical chairs among WFAN’s daily lineup. While Carton’s former partner, Boomer Esiason, is expected to remain with Gregg Gianotti on the morning show, Carton’s return is expected to lead to Joe Benigno’s retirement while Evan Roberts shifts back to middays, possibly teaming with Maggie Gray at the expense of Marc Malusis.