The Making of Donald Trump (26 page)
4
They lacked facemasks, even though asbestos—known to cause incurable cancers—swirled all around them:
Selwyn Raab, “After 15 Years in Court, Workers’ Lawsuit Against Trump Faces Yet Another Delay.”
New York Times
, June 14, 1998.
5
Trump kept an eye on the project, not just when visiting the site:
Dunstan Prial, “Before Running for President, Donald Trump’s First Gamble Was Building Trump Tower.”
Hollywood Reporter
, April 6, 2016. Accessed June 8, 2016.
www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/before-running-president-donald-trumps-880084
.
6
The demolition workers were not American citizens:
Michael Daly, “Trump Tower Was Built on Undocumented Immigrants’ Backs.”
Daily Beast
, August 7, 2015. Accessed June 10, 2016.
www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/08/trump-tower-was-built-on-undocumented-immigrants-backs.html
.
7
Many members of the demolition crew, which became known as the Polish Brigade:
Constance L. Hayes, “Judge Says Trump Tower Builders Cheated Union on Pension Funds.”
8
sleeping through the bitter cold on bare concrete floors:
Daly, “Trump Tower Was Built on Undocumented Immigrants’ Backs.”
9
“Donald told me he was having some difficulties,” Sullivan later testified:
David Cay Johnston, “Just What Were Donald Trump’s Ties to the Mob.”
Politico
.
10
“Men were stripping electric wires with their bare hands,” Sullivan later tesified:
Trump: What’s the Deal
? Directed by Libby Handross.
trumpthemovie.com
.
11
Shortly after Trump called Sullivan, a new demolition crew arrived on the site:
Selwyn Raab, “After 15 Years in Court, Workers’ Lawsuit Against Trump Faces Yet Another Delay.”
12
One day, to keep the workers swinging their sledgehammers:
Hardy v. Kaszycki & Sons Contractors, Inc.
13
After the building was taken down, a dissident member of the Housewreckers Union:
Raab, “After 15 Years in Court, Workers’ Lawsuit Against Trump Faces Yet Another Delay.”
14
Judge Stewart, in a lengthy opinion, found that Trump’s testimony lacks credibility:
Hayes, “Judge Says Trump Tower Builders Cheated Union on Pension Funds.”
15
Judge Stewart ruled that Trump had engaged in a conspiracy to cheat the workers of their pay:
Wayne Barrett,
Trump: The Deals and the Downfall
, p. 192.
16
There was no litigation over the destruction of the bas-relief façades:
Robert D. McFadden, “Developer Scraps Bonwit Sculptures.”
New York Times
, June 6, 1980.
17
Trump spoke up days later, saying safety concerns were his real worry:
Robert D. McFadden, “Builder Says Costs Forced Scrapping of Bonwit Art; Three-Week Delay.”
New York Times
, June 9, 1980.
1
In 1990, when his business empire was on the verge of collapse:
David Cay Johnston, “Bankers Say Trump May Be Worth Less Than Zero.”
Philadelphia Inquirer
, August 16, 1990.
articles.philly.com/1990-08-16/news/25932770_1_donald-trump-trump-assets-trump-princess
.
2
Just how does Trump arrive at these fluctuating figures?:
Peter S. Goodman, “Trump Suit Claiming Defamation Is Dismissed.”
New York Times
, July 15, 2009.
3
“I would say it’s my general attitude at the time that the question may be asked”:
Trump vs. Timothy L. O’Brien, et al. No. CAM-L-545-06. Superior Court of New Jersey.
4
“I asked the client to provide me with a list of liabilities”:
Donald Trump v. Timothy L. O’Brien Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division Docket NO. A-6141-08T3 Decided 9/7/2001.
5
Trump said he paid cash for the property, which he described as run-down:
Donald Trump and Tony Schwartz,
Trump: The Art of the Deal
(New York: Ballantine, 2015), p. 26.
6
In December 1985, Trump had written to Janet VB Pena:
Donald J. Trump to Janet VB Pena, Chase Manhattan Bank. December 9, 1985. New York, New York.
7
The bank loaned Trump $2 million more than the purchase price:
Chase Manhattan Bank to Donald J. Trump. November 26, 1985. New York, New York.
8
He boasted that he got Mar-a-Lagofor a song:
Trump and Schwartz,
Trump: The Art of the Deal
, p. 26.
1
His recorded cash flow averaged $1.6 million per week for 233 weeks:
David Cay Johnston,
Temples of Chance: How America Inc. Bought out Murder Inc. to Win Control of the Casino Business
(New York: Doubleday, 1992), p. 231.
2
How could a man who had convinced the world he was a multibillionaire fail to pay contractors:
David Cay Johnston, “Donald Trump’s Bankruptcy Dodge: This Is How Lawyers and Regulators Helped Him Fudge Solvency and Avoid Collapse.”
Salon
, April 30, 2016.
www.salon.com/2016/04/30/donald_trumps_bankruptcy_dodge_this_is_how_lawyers_and_regulators_helped_him_fudge_solvency_and_avoid_collapse/
.
3
Trump’s inability to pay his debts had put him at risk:
David Cay Johnston,
Temples of Chance: How America Inc. Bought out Murder Inc. to Win Control of the Casino Business
. Pg 233
4
At the time, Trump told me and everybody else that he was worth $3 billion:
David Cay Johnston, “The Art
of the Inside Deal.”
Washington Spectator
, April 25, 2016.
washingtonspectator.org/trump-finance-regulators/
.
5
A few weeks later, I got my hands on Trump’s personal financial statement:
David Cay Johnston, “Bankers Say Trump May Be Worth Less Than Zero.”
Philadelphia Inquirer
, August 16, 1990.
6
Soon after that news story, casino regulators publicized a document:
Johnston,
Temples of Chance: How America Inc. Bought out Murder Inc. to Win Control of the Casino Business
, p. 232.
7
Trump’s obvious difficulty complying with the financial stability requirements:
Johnston,
Temples of Chance: How America Inc. Bought out Murder Inc. to Win Control of the Casino Business
, pp. 231 and 234.
8
But Trump’s unpaid bills and the presence of all those bankers in Trump Tower:
David Cay Johnston, “The Art of the Inside Deal.”
9
The seventy banks whose massive loans were about to sour insisted that Trump install a man:
Steven F. Bollenbach: Johnston,
Temples of Chance: How America Inc. Bought out Murder Inc. to Win Control of the Casino Business
, p. 230.
10
“You may well be worth more than Donald Trump”:
Johnston, “Bankers Say Trump May Be Worth Less Than Zero.”
11
Instead, the Casino Control Commision listened to a less than vigorous challenge:
Johnston,
Temples of Chance: How America Inc. Bought out Murder Inc. to Win Control of the Casino Business
, p. 232.
12
The DGE prepared its own 111-page report:
Johnston,
Temples of Chance: How America Inc. Bought out Murder Inc. to Win Control of the Casino Business
, p. 231.
13
Part of the deal was putting Trump on an allowance:
Kurt Eichenwald, “Quick: Who’d Have Trouble Living on $450,000 a Month?”
New York Times
, June 26, 1990.
14
“Trump Empire Could Tumble Today, Casino Panel Told”:
David Cay Johnston, “Trump Empire Could Tumble Today, Casino Panel Told.”
Philadelphia Inquirer
, August 17, 1990.
15
In the spring of 2016, Trump told CNBC:
Binyamin Appelbaum, “Donald Trump’s Idea to Cut National Debt: Get Creditors to Accept Less.”
CNBC.COM
. May 6, 2016.
www.cnbc.com/2016/05/06/donald-trumps-idea-to-cut-national-debt-get-creditors-to-accept-less.html
.
1
Of Trump’s fifteen golf courses:
Michael Bamberger, “Donald Trump Details His Golfing Ambitions, Dust-ups with Jack Nicklaus, the USGA and Golf Digest.”
Golf.com
, August 19, 2011.
2
Among Trump’s top-valued properties is the Trump National Golf Club Westchester:
Trump National Golf Club Westchester. June 7, 2016.
www.trumpnationalwestchester.com/Default.aspx?p=dynamicmodule&pageid=100119&ssid=100132&vnf=1
.
3
Bill Clinton, who owns a home six miles away, is among those who have paid the club’s initiation fee:
Shawn Tully, “Trump Once Said Some Amazing Things
About His Net Worth Under Oath.”
Forbes
, March 3, 2016.
4
While Trump declared (also under oath) that more than $50 million:
David Cay Johnston, “Donald Trump’s Worthless Real Estate Math.”
Daily Beast
, May 24, 2016.
www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/24/donald-trump-s-worthless-real-estate-math.html
.
5
The difference between what Trump swore in his Federal Election Commission filings:
Mathew Mosk, Brian Ross, and Randy Kreider, “Trump Team Revises Golf Course Value Amid Tax Controversy.”
abcnews.Go.com
. May 16, 2016.
abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-team-revises-golf-amid-tax-controversy/story?id=39155939
.
6
Trump’s appeal annoyed the locals:
David McKay Wilson, “Trump Seeks 90% Tax Cut at New York Golf Club.”
USA Today
, September 3, 2015.
7
According to court documents filed by Briarcliff Manor:
David McKay Wilson, “Trump at War with Briarcliff Manor Over $238k Flood Bill.”
Lohud.com
, September 11, 2015.
www.lohud.com/story/money/personal-finance/taxes/david-mckay-wilson/2015/09/10/trump-war-briarcliff-manor-over-238k-flood-damage-bill/71950004/
.
8
In the rolling open hills of Bedminster, New Jersey:
Walter O’Brien, “Donald Trump Loves NYC, But Will Spend Eternity in Bedminster.”
Nj.com
. September 26, 2013.
www.nj.com/somerset/index.ssf/2013/09/donald_trump_may_love_new_york_but_hell_spend_eternity_in_bedminster.html
.
9
For property tax purposes, assessors make separate determinations of value:
Jon Swaine, “How Trump’s $50m Golf Club Became $1.4m When It Came Time to Pay Tax.”
Guardian
, March 12, 2016.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/mar/12/donald-trump-briarcliff-manor-golf-course-tax
.
10
The property tax in 2015 was just under $440,000:
Richard Rubin, “Goat Herd Helps Trump Lower Tax Bite.” Wall
Street Journal
, April 20, 2016.
11
The Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles:
Gene Maddaus, “Donald Trump’s Palos Verdes Golf Course Has Holes in It.”
Variety
, June 9, 2016.
12
Trump gained property tax and income tax breaks on the Palos Verdes property:
Gene Maddaus, “Donald Trump’s Palos Verdes Golf Course Has Holes in It.”
13
Trump tried to develop the land anyway, only to be told no:
Victoria Kim, “Trump Sues City for $100 Million.”
Los Angeles Times
, December 20, 2008.
14
Showing his relish for litigation:
Victoria Kim, “Trump Sues City for $100 Million.”
15
On Trump’s behalf, Alderman Burke won tax discounts:
Tim Novak and Chris Fusco, “Watchdogs: The Donald & the Democrat; Burke Saved Trump $11.7 Million.”
Chicago Sun-Times
, April 30, 2016.
16
Kelly Keeling Hahn, a lawyer at Alderman Burke’s firm:
Novak Fusco, “Watchdogs: The Donald & the Democrat; Burke Saved Trump $11. 7 Million.”
1
Mitnick has testified that he is “thoroughly familiar” with every aspect of Trump’s finances:
State of New York Division of Tax Appeals. In the Matter of the Petition of East 61st Street Company. Determination DTA NO. 811470
2
In
The Art of the Deal
,
Trump recounts a typical conversation with Mitnick:
Donald Trump and Tony Schwartz,
Trump: The Art of the Deal
(New York: Ballantine Books, 2015), p. 14.
3
Trump had done well following his accountant’s advice:
Chris Good and Ryan Struyk, “Donald Trump Twice Paid No Federal Taxes, Government Report Shows.” ABC News, May 20, 2016.
abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-paid-federal-taxes-government-report-shows/story?id=39259669
.
4
Trump’s 1978 tax return reported a negative income of $406,379:
Associated Press. “Here’s What Might Be Hiding in Donald Trump’s Tax Returns.” Fortune, May 12, 2016.
5
Trump’s federal tax return included a Schedule C:
David Cay Johnston, “New Evidence Donald Trump Didn’t Pay Taxes.”
Daily Beast
, June 15, 2016.
www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/15/new-evidence-donald-trump-didn-t-pay-taxes.html
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