A top Trump Organization executive was set to be indicted for a criminal tax fraud scheme, telling jurors that shortly after he pleaded guilty, the company dropped his title and denied the prestige that Donald Trump had worked for. – Kicked him off the floor.
Former Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, a star witness for the prosecution in two Trump company trials, appeared in Manhattan state court on Tuesday in a charcoal suit and blue tie. He said his title was downgraded to senior counsel after he filed a petition and agreed to testify against companies accused of hiding taxable income among lavish perks.
“My place has changed, too,” he told jurors after being questioned by Assistant District Attorney Susan Hoffinger, explaining that he lost his perch on the 26th floor of Trump Tower and moved one floor down. He then described a party that Trump Organization executives threw for him.
“Unfortunately, my son wanted me to throw his birthday party,” Weisselberg said, arranging it at Trump Tower.
“It was a little birthday cake,” he added.
But even after pleading guilty to all 15 indictments against him, including conspiracy and tax evasion charges, Weisselberg is still withdrawing his full $640,000 paycheck and will receive a $500,000 bonus in January. He told the jury that he hopes to
How rewards work
The prosecution said the alleged tax evasion scheme at the Trump company was not secretly conceived by Mr. Weisselberg and Commissioner Jeffrey McConney, as the defendants allege, but was a result of the company’s well-established business practices. Trump himself, who has not been charged, has called the trial unfounded revenge.
On his first day on the witness stand, Weisselberg was in stark contrast to McConney, the DA’s first witness. McConney was so hesitant and evasive that on Monday a judge declared him an adversary witness, giving prosecutors more leeway when questioning him. appeared relieved when he told jurors how he received perks and bonuses.
Weisselberg said he enjoyed a number of benefits totaling about $1.7 million, including an apartment with a garage and his and her Mercedes-Benz to get into it. He also testified that he received unreported cash and received various personal expenses to cover his home and his son’s apartment, including flat-screen televisions and new furniture. These items should have been taxed like income.
From 2005 to 2017, Trump Corporation, one of the two companies under trial, paid about $1.2 million in rent for the Weisselbergs’ apartment, according to the Attorney’s Office. Weisselberg told jurors on Tuesday that he was given benefits after his wife fell ill and moved to Florida, where Trump offered him an apartment on Manhattan’s Upper West Side near his offices. he said.
“Donald knew I was going to an empty house, but there was no one there,” Weisselberg said in court. “He said, ‘Instead of taking the train for three hours, move to the city.'”
Trump then personally paid about $359,000 in private school tuition for Weisselberg’s grandchildren, prosecutors said.
why not raise?
Hoffinger asked Weisselberg why he didn’t just ask for a raise. Weisselberg said it helps the company save money.
“The Trump Company would have had to pay me twice as much to get a raise, because taxes had been deducted,” he said.
Under the terms of his plea bargain, Weisselberg must testify truthfully and according to his attorney Nicholas Gravante, rather than the maximum 15 years in prison he could otherwise face. He wants a short sentence of 100 days in prison. He will continue to testify on Thursday when the trial resumes.
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