As reported by The Daily Beast, prosecutors in New York “appear to have found an opening they can exploit to pry open the notoriously insulated Trump Organization and get past its mob-like code of silence—by leveraging a long-running feud between two warring family fiefdoms.” These two families are the Weisselbergs and the Calamaris, both of whom have had more than one member working for the Trump family business and both of whom have been tied to Trump for substantial stretches of time.
Allen Weisselberg, who works as the company’s chief financial officer, has already been charged in relation to a years-long scheme to evade taxes on pricey benefits, and both his son, Barry, and the company’s chief operating officer, Matthew Calamari Sr., could be next over having seemingly received similar benefits. As The Daily Beast explains it, prosecutors have been hoping to flip Weisselberg as part of an effort to hold Trump himself accountable for any misconduct, and to up the pressure on Weisselberg, flipping Jeffrey McConney (a deputy of Weisselberg) may be in order. Now, “prosecutors are trying to use the Trump Organization’s young head of corporate security, [Matthew Calamari Jr.], to elicit damning information about the company’s controller, McConney,” as The Daily Beast summarizes things.
McConney “prepared [Calamari Jr.’s] individual taxes years ago—and prosecutors are exploring whether those taxes accurately reported details about his residency and corporate apartment and vehicle,” the publication adds. Allen Weisselberg and the Trump Organization have been accused of evading taxes on perks like high-dollar apartment space, luxury cars, and even hundreds of thousands of dollars in tuition money from the company for Allen’s grandchildren. The Calamaris have received similar benefits in connection to their work for the Trump company. Matthew Calamari Jr., for instance, at one point was given a company apartment in a building where Allen Weisselberg’s son, Barry, and his then-wife Jennifer had also gotten apartment space. Similarly, Matthew Calamari Sr. was granted an apartment in a Trump building near Trump Tower.
For now, it’s clear that — no matter the already pressed charges against Allen Weisselberg and the Trump Organization — the investigation underlying those allegations remains ongoing. Weisselberg attorney Brian C. Skarlatos said at a court hearing this week in connection to the discovery by prosecutors of additional evidence that he has “strong reason to believe there could be other indictments coming.” It’s unclear at this point whether Trump might end up as one of those charged with crimes. Read more at this link.
