Trump's connections to the mafia

FRANKFURTER RUNDSCHAU Trump's connections to the mafia Status: January 7, 2019, 6:53 p.m. Donald Trump likes pompous productions. The biographer of the US Republican presidential candidate shows his cooperation with criminals. The New York journalist describes the Trump Tower as a "monument to the mafia." By Sebastian Moll Donald Trump loves pompous things, as anyone who has ever entered one of his kitschy, magnificent buildings in Atlantic City or New York knows. And so it was no surprise when Trump staged the announcement of his presidential candidacy last summer like a revue appearance in Las Vegas. Trump floated down the gold-plated escalator in the atrium of his favorite prestige object, the Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, in front of the assembled press and a hand-picked crowd of celebrities. In the background, the artificial waterfalls gurgled, cascading down the hall's dark Sicilian marble four stories deep. The backdrop was not only a testament to Donald Trump's questionable taste. The Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, which is still the headquarters of Trump's campaign and the billionaire's favorite residence, is also a symbol of the candidate's complete lack of seriousness, his shady nature and his penchant for corruption. New York journalist Wayne Barrett writes in his Donald Trump biography "Trump: The Greatest Show on Earth" that the Trump Tower is a "monument to the mafia." Without Trump's close cooperation with organized crime, the gold-plated skyscraper at New York's finest address would never have been built. In addition, prominent demimonde figures are some of the most prominent and oldest residents of the tower, which has been a thorn in the side of the more dignified New York establishment from the start. The fact that the glittering tower between St. Patrick's Cathedral and the venerable ziggurat buildings of Fifth Avenue from the early 20th century is considered a monument to organized crime is evident from its construction material alone. Donald Trump decided to have the luxury residential and shopping temple built from concrete, even though steel would have been lighter and cheaper. Despite the costs, the choice of concrete had clear advantages for Trump. The concrete industry in New York, both at the union level and at the construction company level, was firmly in the hands of the mafia at the time. With the help of good connections to the mafia, Trump was able to ensure that the construction was completed smoothly and quickly. According to Barrett's research, the decision to use concrete was made not least because of Trump's special connections to union boss John Cody. Cody was imprisoned for several years in 1983 because of his mafia connections. During the investigation against him, Donald Trump was also summoned for questioning. He was accused of having promised Cody an apartment in Trump Tower for a mistress in return for a strike-free construction process. It was never possible to prove that Trump had made the arrangement, and he refused to testify. Barrett did, however, find out that Trump was building an apartment in his new palace for the socialite Verina Hixon. Cody invested $500,000 in the apartment, and when the remaining financing ran out, Trump gave her a preferential mortgage. Acquaintances and friends report that Cody was in and out of Trump Tower, where Trump and Hixon were penthouse neighbors, and that relations between Trump and Cody were friendly. However, the negotiations between Cody and Trump were conducted through Trump's lawyer, Roy Cohn, a man with well-known underworld connections. During the 1970s and 1980s, Cohn represented notorious mafia figures such as Nick Auletta and Tony Salerno. Cohn also negotiated the contracts between the concrete processing companies and Trump. One of them was Dic Underhill, who sold the Trump contracts to Carmine Persico - the brother of the boss of the notorious Colombo Mafia clan. In the major New York Mafia trial of 1987, which brought down the Genovese Klan, Underhill appeared as a key witness.