I think given Trump’s ties to Russia, one area that needs to be further explored is Trump’s ties to potentially mafia-associated and or government figures from Russia. I’ll examine just a couple below, though the ties go much deeper and require much more than an amateur blogger like myself to fully be explored:
One person with Russian mafia and government ties is Tevfik Arif. I want to stick to facts in this diary. So, lets start with how does he know and/or connect to Trump? Well, one way is thru the Trump Soho. Here is a picture of him, second from left, with Trump, Trump’s kids and others. How is he connected to Trump Soho? Well, he was a founder with Felix Sater (more on him later) of a company called Bayrock Group. Bayrock was a partner in Trump Soho. What are Arif’s ties to to Russia? It has been reported that he worked for the government for 17 years in the Ministry of Trade and Commerce.
Arif also fairly recently tried to help Trump build hotels in Russia. What else is Arif known for? In April of 2010 he was arrested in Turkey on suspicion of running a large scale prostituion ring for wealthy businessmen. Some of the girls were reported to be underage.
The other Bayrock principle who partnered with Trump on Trump Soho is Felix Sater. Sater’s father Mikhail is alleged to be a Russian mobster and was indicted for those activiteis in the in the United States in 1990. It appears he received three years probation on those charges.
What do we know about the son? Felix Sater himself has a very twisted and potentially shady history. At one time he had been involved in a illegal stock fraud scheme that the FBI thought was on behalf of the Russian mob. The Telegraph has also pegged Sater as, like his father, a figure in Russian oragnized crime.
As I type this, Sater is facing another indictment for tax fraud that Trump's children are listed as material witnesses in. Sater’s ties to Russian organized crime are extremely concerning considering his additional ties to a man within a few percentage points of becoming President of the United States a week from now. It was reportedly a major factor, along with Arif, why Trump didn't run for President in 2012.
In any even, while running Bayrock, Sater kept offices in Trump Tower. He has visited Trump Tower as recently as July of this year.
This is extremely concerning. How this is not being presented to the American people more loudly and comprehensively is alarming to me. It is clear, however, a man close to winning the Presidency is completely and totally compromised by the Russian government and criminal elements. This has to be explored in more comprehensive fashion than has been so far.