Tag

#Roy-Cohn

6 incidents

Updated May 22, 2016 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Major Abuse of Power

Organized Crime Connections: Concrete, Casinos, and the Five Families

Building in 1980s New York required navigating a concrete industry dominated by organized crime. Trump Tower, built 1980-1983, used S&A Concrete, a company co-owned by Anthony 'Fat Tony' Salerno (Genovese crime boss) and Paul Castellano (Gambino crime boss) through intermediaries. Trump's relationship with Roy Cohn — who simultaneously represented multiple mob clients — connected him to the broader organized crime ecosystem. His Atlantic City casinos dealt with labor unions whose pension funds and leadership had documented mob ties. These relationships did not make Trump a mobster; they documented the environment in which he built his early business empire and the tolerance or accommodation he showed to organized crime-connected business partners.

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4
organized-crimeSalernoS-A-Concretepre-presidencycorruption
Updated August 2, 1986 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Major Abuse of Power

Roy Cohn, Mob Connections, and the Formation of Trump's Operating Style

Trump met Roy Cohn at Studio 54 in 1973 during the housing discrimination lawsuit. Cohn became his attorney, fixer, and strategic advisor for over a decade. Cohn represented Trump in multiple legal matters and taught him a specific political and legal style: never settle (except when you do), never apologize, and reframe every defense as an attack. Cohn's other clients during this period included mob boss Fat Tony Salerno, Gambino crime family figures, and New York tabloid figures. Trump's Atlantic City casino construction involved documented relationships with contractors controlled by the Genovese crime family; the concrete supplier for Trump Tower and other Trump projects was S&A Concrete, co-owned by Salerno and Paul Castellano.

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4
Roy-Cohnorganized-crimecorruptionpre-presidencymob
Updated June 10, 1975 Civil Rights
Major Abuse of Power

1973 DOJ Housing Discrimination Settlement: Trump's First Civil Rights Case

Black applicants at Trump apartment buildings were systematically denied housing that was simultaneously offered to white applicants. A Black doorman described being instructed to discourage Black applicants; the government documented instances where the Trumps coded applications with a 'C' (for 'colored') to identify Black applicants for rejection. Trump hired Roy Cohn to fight the lawsuit, countersuing the government for $100 million. He settled without admitting guilt in 1975. Three years later, DOJ filed a second suit alleging violations of the settlement terms.

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4
housing-discriminationracismpre-presidencyDOJ1973
Updated June 10, 1975 Civil Rights
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

1973 DOJ Housing Discrimination: Trump and Father Sued for Refusing to Rent to Black Applicants

The DOJ suit was based on a year-long investigation by the Fair Housing Division, including undercover testers who posed as prospective renters. Black testers were told no apartments were available or were given discouraging treatment; white testers at the same buildings were shown units and given applications. Trump applications were alleged to contain a 'C' code — interpreted as standing for 'colored' — to flag non-white applicants. Trump hired Roy Cohn, who filed a $100 million countersuit against the DOJ (dismissed). The 1975 consent decree required anti-discriminatory practices but did not require Trump to admit wrongdoing. Three years later, the DOJ found Trump Management had violated the decree.

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4
housing-discriminationDOJFair-Housing-Actpre-presidencycivil-rights
Updated June 10, 1975 Civil Rights
Major Abuse of Power

DOJ Housing Discrimination Suit: Trump Refused to Rent to Black Applicants

The DOJ complaint documented specific evidence including testers — white and Black individuals sent to inquire about the same apartments — where Black applicants were told there were no vacancies while white applicants were offered leases for the same units. An employee named Elyse Goldweber documented that a Trump employee had marked rental applications with the letter 'C' (for 'colored') to identify minority applicants. Trump's response was to hire Roy Cohn, file a $100 million countersuit against the DOJ (which was dismissed), and ultimately settle via consent decree in 1975. The consent decree required Trump Management to place ads in minority newspapers and to notify the Urban League of vacancies; Trump violated the decree within two years and a second agreement had to be negotiated.

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3
housing-discriminationracismDOJpre-presidencycivil-rights
Updated October 1, 2016 Corruption & Self-Dealing
Major Abuse of Power

Roy Cohn Mentorship: How Trump Learned Corruption, Mob Ties, and Weaponizing Government

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.

Sources
5
Roy-Cohnorganized-crimecorruptionpre-presidencymob