TRUMP AS MOB BOSS

           The Daily Beast reported that in an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos former FBI Director James Comey called President Donald Trump “a mob boss” and left everyone present in the room “stunned.” This did not stun me at all. Before he (somehow) became president, Trump was a big-time real estate developer in New York. It is not hard to imagine that Trump had frequent dealings with the Mob in New York—the real organized Mob—and that perhaps was a sort of capo himself.

I was reminded of this when I read an article in The New Yorker Magazine about John Feeley, former Ambassador to Panama, who resigned because he could no longer support the policies of Donald Trump. The article described Feeley’s first visit to the Oval Office to advise the president about matters in Panama. As Feeley took a seat, Trump asked “So tell me, what do we get from Panama? What’s in it for us?” Feeley described the many benefits we get from Panama, and when he finished, Trump chuckled and said, “Who knew?” Trump then turned the conversation into questions he had about a hotel he owned in Panama. To me this sounds like the behavior of a Mob Boss.

Comey, who was Director of the FBI from 2013 until his dismissal by Trump in May 2017, and was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York from January 2002 to December 2003, and subsequently the United States Deputy Attorney General from December 2003 to August 2005, would not use the words “Mob Boss” lightly. I’m sure that as a leading law enforcement officer he would be very familiar with the behavior of mob bosses. They are not like the character on the Godfather in Pizza commercials. They are a sinister bunch of thugs who have historically controlled unions and construction companies in the New York real estate development industry. It is hard to imagine that Trump could have run his real estate business without dealing with and placating the mob.

PolitiFact reports that La Cosa Nostra had a virtual monopoly on concrete in New York at the time Trump was adding his name to its skyline in the 1980s. And the Mafia’s control over building supplies and labor unions meant that the crime families had a hand in most construction projects in Manhattan. Trump and other major developers “had to adapt to that situation or build elsewhere,” said James B. Jacobs, a mafia expert. “That was the fact of life, that was the way it was,” he told PolitiFact. “The contractors and developers weren’t pure victims. You could bribe the mob-controlled union leaders and get relief from the more arduous conflicts. But we had no information that Trump was any different.”  

According to Fortune, Trump was first tied to the mafia in the 1980s, when a $7.8 million subcontract for Trump Plaza was awarded to S&A Concrete. That company was partially owned by Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno, the boss of the Genovese crime family. Trump himself acknowledged as much in a December 2015 interview with the Wall Street Journal, admitting that S&A Concrete was “supposedly associated with the mob.” “Virtually every building that was built was built with these companies,” he said, adding, “These guys were excellent contractors. They were phenomenal. They could do three floors a week in concrete. Nobody else in the world could do three floors a week. I mean they were unbelievable. Trump Tower, other buildings.” When Salerno was indicted in 1986, the charges specifically mentioned Trump Plaza. 
Trump World Tower, supported by the Quadrozzi Concrete Company, is also related to La Cosa Nostra. The head of the company, John Quadrozzi Sr., was tied to the Lucchese crime family and indicted for making illegal payoffs to the mob in 1992.

Trump’s alleged mob dealings were not confined to New York. According to reports from the Huffington Post and the Philadelphia Inquirer Trump made a deal in Atlantic City with Kenneth Shapiro, an associate of mob boss Nicky Scarfo, and mob-connected labor boss Daniel Sullivan. Trump was aware of this, calling Shapiro "a third-rate, local real estate Mafia" and Sullivan "the guy who killed Jimmy Hoffa." Nonetheless, in 1981, Trump leased a portion of the land for Trump Plaza and Casino from a company the two men controlled, according a report by New Jersey gaming regulators.

There are many other facts about Trump’s dealings with the Mafia. Just look at the report online by PolitiFact. As the above article in The New Yorker shows, Trump’s behavior is not like that of a distinguished Head of State. It is the behavior of a mob boss.
I believe that this explains many things about Donald Trump. Several people have accused Trump of being amoral or immoral. They note that he doesn't seem to have compassion or decency. That's the kind of character you would expect from a Mafia type. They have been willing to execute people who disagree with them. In order to reach the top they must show no emotion about whacking somebody. Trump has that king of character.

There many other accusations one could make about Trump. He wants to get the Nobel Prize for his dealings with North Korea. But the Nobel Prize Committee should note not only his immorality, ruthlessness, bigotry, egotism, mendacity, hypocrisy, cruelty, and megalomania, but also his sleazy dealings with the underworld.