That’s the provocative question asked last July by David Marcus for The Federalist: “We need to welcome Donald Trump to his new place in serious national politics with a cold, hard look at the crooks, conspirators, and criminals who peopled his early career.”
We agree. This is a compelling topic for research — and that’s why it seems remarkable that there’s been little scrutiny by the press or Trump’s GOP opponents.
Below, a dip of the toe into the murky waters of Trump’s Mafia connections:
CNN went there, which may be one reason why Donald Trump is no longer a fan of CNN — although he “would never kill reporters.”
"The mob connections of Donald are extraordinarily extensive," New York investigative journalist Wayne Barrett told CNN in an interview.
Barrett, the author of the 1992 unauthorized biography "Trump: The Deals and the Downfall," wrote that Trump's life "intertwines with the underworld…."
In a recent Federalist article, David Marcus writes that Trump bought the property that his Atlantic City casino Trump Plaza would one day occupy -- for twice market price -- from Salvatore Testa, a Philly mobster and son of one-time Philly mob boss Philip "Chicken Man" Testa….
The casino was built with the help of two construction companies controlled by Philly mobsters Nicademo "Little Nicky" Scarfo and his nephew Phillip "Crazy Phil" Leonetti, according to, as Marcus notes, a New Jersey state commission's 1986 report on organized crime….
ABC went there, too, just a couple of weeks ago.
Though he touts his outstanding memory, when Donald Trump was asked under oath about his dealings with a twice-convicted Russian émigré who served prison time and had documented mafia connections, the real estate mogul was at a loss.
Even though the man, Felix Sater (“Trump picked stock fraud felon as senior adviser”), had played a role in a number of high-profile Trump-branded projects across the country.
“If he were sitting in the room right now, I really wouldn't know what he looked like,” Trump testified in a video deposition for a civil lawsuit two years ago….
Sater's alleged ties to organized crime were more widely publicized in December 2007 when The New York Times published an article featuring Sater’s ties to Trump and describing his “tangled past.” The article reported that Sater “had been an ‘unindicted co-conspirator’ and a key figure in a $40 million scheme involving 19 stockbrokers and organized crime figures from four Mafia families.”
Sater told the Times that activity was in the past. “I’m trying to lead an exemplary existence,” he said then. “Old, bad luggage is not something anyone wants to remember….”
Trump had claimed earlier that week:
Trump only learned of Sater's troubled past when The New York Times reported details in December 2007. In the article, Trump distanced himself from Sater, saying: "I didn't really know him very well."
Garten said Trump had no further interactions with Sater at Bayrock following the revelations of his criminal history. But a new relationship was formed in 2010 when Trump offered Sater office space and a chance to round up new business possibilities for the Trump Organization. [Bold added.]
Even Fox had to run the AP story: Top Trump business adviser admitted role in Mafia-linked stock fraud scheme
More about this story was added by AP reporter Jeff Horwitz in his Q&A on Trump real estate adviser accused of a $40M stock fraud scheme and ties to the mob:
WHAT WAS HAPPENING INSIDE SATER'S COMPANY WHEN IT WORKED WITH TRUMP?
A 2007 lawsuit against Sater, Bayrock and others by a company owned by Ernest Mennes, an investor in a planned Trump development in Phoenix, alleged that Bayrock skimmed money from the project and that Sater threatened to amputate Mennes's legs and leave his body in a car trunk. Bayrock settled the case, filed in U.S. District Court in Arizona, and after initially being available on the public docket it was sealed. The AP obtained a copy of the complaint. Mennes told the AP he wishes Sater well.
Another lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York against Bayrock, Sater and others in 2010 by Bayrock's former director of finance, Jody Kriss, and another Bayrock employee, alleged that Bayrock was "substantially and covertly mob-owned and operated" and went to great lengths to hide Sater's stake in the firm.
- The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial:
Trump and the Goodfellas
The presidential candidate says he didn’t know he was doing business with the mob.
In one 1988 trial, Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno, boss of the Genovese crime family, was among those convicted in a scheme to control and profit from the concrete contracts for numerous buildings in Manhattan, including Trump Plaza….
Asked about a July CNN report suggesting Mr. Trump had overpaid for a parcel of Atlantic City land from Philadelphia mobster Salvatore Testa, Mr. Trump said, “I don’t know who Testa is.” CNN reported that the transaction occurred in 1982. That was a long time ago—and two years before Testa was found shot to death….
But if Mr. Trump didn’t know whether his associates had mob ties, why did he warn others not to get involved in casino gambling lest they attract organized crime? Mr. Trump now says he was merely trying to discourage potential competitors from entering the casino business: “I’d say negative about it because I didn’t want to have other jurisdictions do gambling. That’s sort of, like, you know, basic business sense.” So he says he warned about mob influence to deter competitors while claiming lack of knowledge about mob ties to his own projects.
6. Trump Tower is not a steel girder high rise, but 58 stories of concrete.
Why did you use concrete instead of traditional steel girders?
7. Trump Tower was built by S&A Concrete, whose owners were “Fat” Tony Salerno, head of the Genovese crime family, and Paul “Big Paul” Castellano, head of the Gambinos, another well-known crime family.
If you did not know of their ownership, what does that tell voters about your management skills?
8. You later used S&A Concrete on other Manhattan buildings bearing your name.
Why?
When we get around to the general election, I’m sure others will post more. But why wait? There’s a whole underworld waiting to be explored.
#WhoBuiltTrumpTower