Donald Trump is one of the cheapest people around. After all, the guy paid for his son’s Boy Scout fees out of the family foundation. Maybe, he was short on cash like regular Americans sometimes are? Probably not that short. After all, he was a millionaire when he started grade school, thanks to his father. So, this mega-penalty must have really hurt.
The Trump National Golf Club Colts Neck in Colts Neck, New Jersey had to pay a $400,000 penalty to the state, according to The Washington Post. The issue was that his club overserved alcohol to one of its customers, Andrew Halder who then caused a fatal car crash.
New Jersey’s settlement documents indicated that the club pled “no contest” to the charges brought by the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The documents also showed that the club continued selling alcoholic beverages stronger than beer on golf course carts to Gary Halder after he was already showing signs of intoxication.
The man flipped his vehicle on a highway on-ramp just four miles from the golf course. That act caused an automobile accident killing his father, Gary Halder on August 30, 2015, according to police records.
Now 41-years-old, Halder pled guilty to vehicular homicide. He served three years of probation.
New Jersey initially planned to revoke the club’s liquor license. But by doing so, that would have immediately revoked the liquor licenses at two other Trump clubs in the state. With no liquor license, that would have seriously handicapped the clubs’ income and appeal to members.
The last available membership dues were released in 2001 long before Trump took office, and he had raised at least some of his clubs’ fees. According to The Asking Lot website, the Colt’s Neck Golf Club fees were:
‘In 2001, annual membership dues were stated to be $9,000 per member or $12,000 for a family, with an initial deposit of $250,000. Before the 2008 recession, initiation fees were $100,000 to $150,000. As of late 2015, initiation fees were down to $50,000.’
But what a deal compared to the Mar-a-Lago Club fee to join of $200,000 in 2017:
‘Subsequently, question is, how much does it cost to join Maralago? The Mar-a-Lago Club The fee was returned to $200,000 in January 2017 following the election of Donald Trump as president with $14,000 annual dues. Overnight guests pay up to $2,000 a night.’
In Wednesday’s settlement, New Jersey decided to let the Trump clubs keep their liquor licenses. However, the Colts Neck club was on the hook for a $400,000 penalty. That would come out to 6.5 percent of the club’s 2020 total revenue.
In addition, the club could no longer sell alcohol from course carts, according to settlement documents.
New Jersey State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal was responsible for the Alcohol Beverage Control Agency. He will be joining President Joe Biden’s administration to lead the enforcement division of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The club’s website described it as “Monmouth Country’s premier semi-private golf facility:
‘Whether it’s your first look at the picturesque fairways or our Scottish style [sic] bunkers framed by plush greenery, you will be enamored by the sheer beauty that’s inherent throughout. The Club offers a driving range and a full member practice area with bunker and chipping green.’
Three White Lions podcast, Gloria Christie reads her week’s most important news/ commentary stories in the liberal online newspaper The Bipartisan Report. Gloria Christie Report her newsletter for people on the go. Written in her own unique style with a twist of humor in a briefer version of Bipartisan Report. Christie’s Mueller Report Adventures In Bite-Sizes a real-life compelling spy mystery. Find her here on Facebook.
