#construction

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.