{"slug":"roy-cohn-mob-connections-corruption","title":"Roy Cohn Mentorship: How Trump Learned Corruption, Mob Ties, and Weaponizing Government","date":"1973-01-01","lastUpdated":"2016-10-01","description":"Donald Trump's longest and most formative mentorship was with Roy Cohn — the notorious fixer, disbarred attorney, and alleged organized crime facilitator who taught Trump his core operating philosophy: never admit wrongdoing, always attack, cultivate powerful people, and use legal threats as weapons regardless of merit. Cohn represented Trump during the 1973 DOJ housing discrimination investigation and introduced him to New York mob figures and political power brokers.","summary":"Roy Cohn served as Donald Trump's attorney and mentor from the early 1970s until Cohn's death in 1986. Cohn — who had been Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel during the Red Scare, was later disbarred, and died of AIDS while denying he had it — introduced Trump to organized crime figures connected to the Genovese and Gambino families, taught him to use litigation as a weapon rather than a legitimate process, and instilled the maxim 'never apologize, never admit.' Trump's operating philosophy throughout his career directly reflects Cohn's explicit teachings.","category":"corruption","severity":"major","ongoing":false,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/us/politics/donald-trump-roy-cohn.html","title":"For Donald Trump, Lessons From a Lifetime of Lawsuits","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/04/what-trump-learned-from-roy-cohn/523984/","title":"What Trump Learned From Roy Cohn","publisher":"The Atlantic"},{"url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/arts/television/where's-my-roy-cohn-documentary.html","title":"Review: 'Where's My Roy Cohn?' Asks an Unsettling Question","publisher":"The New York Times"},{"url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/03/07/donald-trump-very-publicly-asked-where-his-roy-cohn-was-that-tells-us-a-lot/","title":"Trump asked where his Roy Cohn was. That tells us a lot.","publisher":"The Washington Post"},{"url":"https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-casino-licensing-review-new-jersey","title":"Trump Casino Licensing and Mob Connections — New Jersey Gaming Commission Records","publisher":"ProPublica"}],"draft":false,"status":"published","tags":["Roy-Cohn","organized-crime","corruption","pre-presidency","mob","McCarthy","mentorship"],"relatedEntries":[],"timeline":[{"date":"1973-01-01","title":"Cohn represents Trump in DOJ discrimination suit","summary":"The DOJ sues Donald and Fred Trump for systematic racial discrimination in their apartment buildings — refusing to rent to Black applicants and steering them to other properties. Rather than settling, Cohn files a $100 million countersuit against the government and mounts an aggressive public denial campaign. The strategy of attacking rather than admitting or settling becomes Trump's template."},{"date":"1974-01-01","title":"Trump meets organized crime figures through Cohn","summary":"Through Cohn's social and professional circles, Trump is introduced to Anthony Salerno, boss of the Genovese crime family, and Paul Castellano, boss of the Gambino family — both Cohn clients. These introductions connect Trump to the concrete and construction labor unions controlled by the Mob, which are essential for his Manhattan and Atlantic City projects."},{"date":"1980-01-01","title":"Mob-connected concrete for Trump Tower","summary":"The concrete for Trump Tower is supplied by S&A Concrete, a company controlled by Salerno's Genovese family and Castellano's Gambino family. Investigators later document that Trump's use of this concrete — at above-market prices — cemented his business relationship with organized crime figures who controlled Manhattan's concrete industry."},{"date":"1984-01-01","title":"Trump Plaza Hotel — Gambino-connected contractor","summary":"Trump's Plaza Hotel employs a contractor connected to the Gambino crime family for concrete work. New Jersey casino regulators later flag the connection as part of their licensing review."},{"date":"1986-08-02","title":"Roy Cohn disbarred; dies of AIDS","summary":"The New York Appellate Division disbarres Cohn in August 1986 for unprofessional conduct including misappropriating client funds, lying on a bar application, and attempting to have a dying client sign over his estate to Cohn. Cohn, who had publicly denied being gay throughout his career while living as a gay man, dies of AIDS complications on August 2, 1986."},{"date":"2017-03-01","title":"Trump asks advisors 'Where's my Roy Cohn?'","summary":"Trump, frustrated that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from the Russia investigation, reportedly asks advisors 'Where's my Roy Cohn?' — a complaint documented by multiple sources and reported by the Washington Post. The phrase encapsulates his view of the DOJ as a personal protection service rather than an independent law enforcement agency."}],"location":{"name":"New York, NY","lat":40.7128,"lng":-74.006},"custom":{"era":"pre-presidency","posture":"reported","warCrimeClassification":"enabling","internationalLaw":[],"iccRelevance":false,"victims":"Numerous targets of Cohn and Trump's legal harassment campaigns; tenants subjected to discrimination during the period Cohn represented Trump; the broader democratic accountability norms undermined by the 'never admit, always attack' philosophy","structuredPerpetrators":[{"name":"Donald Trump","role":"Real estate developer; Cohn's client and protégé","institution":"Trump Organization"},{"name":"Roy Cohn","role":"Attorney; McCarthy's chief counsel; fixer; organized crime lawyer","institution":"Saxe, Bacon & Bolan"}],"updateLog":[{"date":"2017-03-01","summary":"Updated with Trump's 'Where's my Roy Cohn' remark after Sessions recusal."}]}}