People familiar with the matter said one of the prosecutors in the area could investigate whether the applicable tax on the flats had been paid. Weisselberg was married to Barry for 14 years until they divorced in 2018. Barry Weisselberg worked for the Trump Organization for more than a decade and was involved in running two skating rinks and a carousel in Central Park.
“For me, when the government calls you, it is your civic duty and there is nothing wrong with telling the truth. It was not really a choice; they called me,” Weisselberg said. “I’m glad to be so honest and transparent and just be coming because I have nothing to hide.”
Prosecutors have thrown a wide network and investigated whether the Trump organization has misled money providers and insurers about the value of certain properties, the legality of certain tax deductions, including consultation fees, and a conservation increase on a family farm known as Seven Springs the investigation says.
They are also investigating a loan on a Chicago skyscraper and the repayment of payments to Michael Cohen, the former lawyer, who made it possible to pay money for women who claim business with Trump. Trump has denied the allegations.
Use to put a top Trump lieutenant under pressure
Investigators have asked questions about Weisselberg’s children in an attempt to exploit the father and put him under pressure to cooperate, say people familiar with the matter. This is a common tactic used by prosecutors to try to get people involved and build a case higher on the corporate ladder.
Financial investigations can be particularly difficult and prosecutors are often assisted by insiders. In addition to the gifts Barry Weisselberg received, prosecutors are also asking questions about another boy, Jack Weisselberg, who works at Ladder Capital, a firm that lent the Trump organization more than $ 100 million, people familiar with the investigation said. None of the boys were charged with any offense. Jack Weisselberg could not be reached for comment Friday.
Allen Weisselberg is a key figure in the Trump organization and once admitted in a statement that he is the ‘eyes and ears’ for Trump from an economic point of view. He is important to prosecutors because of his close working relationship with the former president. When Trump became president, he devoted the day-to-day operations of the company to Weisselberg, along with Trump’s two adult sons. Weisselberg initially worked for Fred Trump, Donald’s father, and was the top financial officer in the organization for decades.
A Weisselberg lawyer, who is not charged with any offense, declined to comment. A spokesman for the office of Cy Vance, Manhattan District Office, declined to comment. A lawyer for the Trump organization could not be reached for comment, but the company has previously denied this.
Jennifer Weisselberg said James’s office first reached her in September last year, and since then she’s spoken to prosecutors at Vance’s office several times, all on video.
She said investigating officers came to her apartment and collected heaps of documents, that forensic accountants were investigating records and that she expected to meet with prosecutors again.
Focus on the two tony apartments
One benefit the couple received was an apartment in Central Park South in which she said she lived from 2005 to about 2013. It was not far from one of the ice skating rinks that Barry ran, and Jennifer remembers that day was surprised by it. of her bridal shower, when Barry takes her to the apartment and says, “This is your wedding gift from Donald and Melania.”
Jennifer Weisselberg said that the apartment was renovated at the time and that she was allowed to make decisions about the renovation, including the fittings and the floor, and that she wrote a letter to Donald and Melania Trump thanking them for the gift. .
During the time they lived in the apartment, Jennifer Weisselberg said the couple never received bills by mail. Instead, she said, Barry wrote checks on “utilities and costs” of $ 400 a month and delivered them by hand to Trump’s assistant. They also relied on the same accountant, Donald Bender, as the Trump organization, and she added that she believes his money is covered by her father-in-law. Barry Weisselberg had no comment when CNN contacted him.
“It did not make sense to me that this person who was an assistant manager, who had just started working there, would get it,” Jennifer Weisselberg told CNN.
After having two children, the couple moved from the apartment to another with more space in 2013, Jennifer Weisselberg said, and she believes the apartment was renovated and sold again. Public records show that the unit was sold in 2014 for $ 2.9 million.
Jennifer Weisselberg said that only in 2017 was a divorce process underway, that she learned through a deposit with Barry that the apartment was not a gift at all, but a corporate apartment, and if so, it could be as compensation is considered, which may raise questions about whether it has been properly reported on tax returns.
“I didn’t know until that moment when he said it was even a corporate apartment. My mouth dropped open,” Jennifer Weisselberg said.
While the couple worked out the terms of their divorce, they remained rentless in another Trump-owned apartment on 61st Street in Manhattan while ‘nesting’, a common practice where estranged spouses spend time with their children separately. the house spends the children alive.
Jennifer Weisselberg said the life arrangement is determined as part of the terms of the divorce. CNN has repeatedly contacted Barry Weisselberg’s family court attorney.
“I did not even have a choice,” she said. “I was driven to the place and given keys. Literally. It seems that that apartment is also considered a corporate apartment in legal documents. I did not even know.”
Barry Weisselberg has temporary full custody of their children.
Jennifer Weisselberg said she felt she had nothing left to lose, and said she would be willing to testify if a case was filed, adding, “I’m not saying it’s easy.”