In 2006 there was a lawsuit that alleged that Sater made a death threat against a Bayrock investor named Ernie Menez. Learn how your comment data is processed. So that, the pair has not yet disclosed any information about their actual wedding date and venue. Have a tip or story idea? Felix Sater (@felixsater) / Twitter Despite the fact that Sater worked on and off for a decade with the Trump Organization, and despite his recent headline-making appearance as an exuberant negotiator on behalf of Trumps hardnosed attorney, Michael Cohen, in seeking to build a massive Trump Tower in Moscow last year, Trump ducks. } Blockbuster: Stunning new allegations further connect Trump to Russian Felix Sater: Lawsuit Reveals Trump's Ties to Him | DCReport.org inline_cta_button_text_258356 = ''; [9][44][47], The Financial Times, citing five sources with knowledge of the matter, reported that Sater had agreed to cooperate with investigators looking into an international money laundering scheme involving Viktor Khrapunov, a former government minister in Kazakhstan. Felix Sater is a Russian-born dealmaker with organised-crime connections who worked on US property ventures that licensed Donald Trump's name, including Trump Soho in Manhattan. 'https' : 'http'; The Donald Trump business associate last month splashed down in the middle of a New York Times story about a freelanced Ukraine "peace proposal" hand-delivered to the White House by Mr. Trump's longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen. Hes been a major government cooperator and was a witness in the Mueller investigation. Saters first run-in with the law came in 1991, when he grabbed a large margarita glass, smashed it on the bar and plunged the stem into the right side of [a rival] brokers face., Saters first run-in with the law came in 1991, when he grabbed a large margarita glass, smashed it on the bar and plunged the stem into the right side of [a rival] brokers face., Saters first run-in with the law came in 1991according to the indictment, as reported by Bagli in the Timeswhen Sater, then an upstart stockbroker in his mid-20s, grabbed a large margarita glass, smashed it on the bar and plunged the stem into the right side of [a rival] brokers face. pic.twitter.com/rzpbjY7LVx. Also charged with multiple counts of that same crime, Ray now stands accused of running a very different kind of criminal enterprise: one that prosecutors say ran partly from his daughter Talia Rays communal dorm in Sarah Lawrence College. Accused Sarah Lawrence Sex 'Cult' Leader Allegedly Claimed He Was var inline_cta_bg_color_258356 = ''; Other former Sarah Lawrence students accuse him of extorting hundreds of thousands of dollars from them by extracting false confessions and blackmailing them with the records. He has not yet revealed other source of incomes, cars, properties. Sater threatened to have a man electrically shock Menez genitals, cut off his legs, and have him put in the trunk of a car. jQuery("#inline_cta_btn_258356").html(inline_cta_button_text_258356); Of all the characters caught up in Russiagate, none come close to Sater for having a decades-long record as a larger-than-life, outside-the-law, spy agency-linked wheeler-dealer from the pages of a John le Carr novel. Stay tuned with us. Copyright (c) 2023 The Nation Company LLC, By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and, agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support. [11], Sater received multiple subpoenas to produce documents and be deposed in the case against Mukhtar Ablyazov who is alleged to have defrauded BTA Bank of up to $5 billion as chairman. [44] In 2009, he was sentenced to pay a $25,000 fine; he served no prison time and paid no restitution to his stock-fraud victims. var is_user_logged_in = getCookie('SESSname'); if( is_user_logged_in != null ){ targeting:{ . (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); (function(d) { if( cta_1_check_258356 ){ } In July, Mueller ordered a pre-dawn raid at Manaforts Virginia home seeking evidence in the case, amid speculation that Manafort might flip and turn against Trump.). tn_subject: ['criminal-j', 'election-2', 'political-', 'world-lead'], [48] Ablyazov's alleged fraud is one of the biggest cases of financial fraud in history. Last January The New York Times reported, During a trip in 2006, Mr. Sater and two of Mr. Trumps children, Donald Jr. and Ivanka, stayed at the historic Hotel National Moscow opposite the Kremlin, connecting with potential partners over the course of several days., After the financial crisis of 2008, Bayrock ran into difficulty, and Sater went out on his own. Both Firtash and Sater were both former Russian Intelligence officials with ties to U.S. CIA and FBI and were bribed by Robert Mueller, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry and former CIA Director John Brennan to keep their mouth shut. This eventually led to 'Uranium One' and the handover of U.S. nuclear secrets to Russian Federal President Vladimir Putin. placementName: "thenation_article_indent", Clair insists that whatever happens in the hearings, Sater cant obfuscate in family court, saying, Unlike the politics in Washington, the divorce court is the crucible of truth., Sater confirmed the divorce to Page Six and said, Viki was a fantastic wife, the most amazing mother and we raised three beautiful daughters together.. d: "YWxsc3RhcmJpby5jb20=", inline_cta_2_bg_color_258356 = '#cc0e0e'; [19] According to the FBI, Mikhail Sheferovsky was an underboss for Russian Mafia "boss of bosses" Semion Mogilevich, and was convicted of extorting money from local restaurants, grocery stores, and a medical clinic. [20], Felix Sater is reportedly a childhood friend of Michael Cohen. magazine_button_url_258356 = 'https://subscriptions.thenation.com/Nation_index?pk=G2A1CLT'; His past record includes a conviction for lacerating a mans face with a broken margarita glass in a bar brawl and his involvement in a multimillion-dollar stock fraud and money-laundering scheme. Seth Rich, Conspiracy Theorists, and Russiagate Truthers jQuery("#inline_cta_2_module_258356").addClass("tn-inline-cta-module"); The top charge of Rays 17-count indictment itself evokes images of organized crime: racketeering, a statute enacted by Congress in an effort to clamp down on the mafia. The judge said the docs showed that although he reported a substantial operating loss, he still made nearly $1 million in profits at two of his companies. Felix a Russian-born American who was convicted for a stock fraud scheme in 1998 that was linked to the mafia played a role in the failed proposal to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Sater claimed, I arranged for Ivanka to sit in Putins [sic] private chair at his desk and office in the Kremlin., Sater claimed, I arranged for Ivanka to sit in Putins [sic] private chair at his desk and office in the Kremlin.. tn_articleid: [258356], One of Rays attorneys also asserted this in a court document in 2000, claiming Ray attempted to obtain Saters extradition to the U.S. for prosecution. (Screenshot from CBS New York) Have a tip we should know? The best comprehensive account of Saters long and complicated path was written by Andrew Rice and published in August in New York magazine under the headline The Original Russia Connection. Rices account, which includes parts of a lengthy interview with Sater, draws heavily on a 2007 breakthrough piece by Charles Bagli in The New York Times. cta_1_check_258356 = true; Trump associate Felix Sater proved invaluable FBI source, records show I'm not that familiar with him. The scheme operated through a Gambino soldier Edward Garafola, but the indictment lists an assortment of other alleged wiseguys, including Frank Coppa, Sr., a Bonanno family captain; Ernest Montevecchi, a Genovese soldier; Daniel Persico, a Colombo family associate; and Eugene Lombardo, a Bonanno family associate, according to the indictment. McMaster hasnt responded to the idea, which is probably long dead. Trump's Conduits For Capital From The Former Soviet Bloc Are - TPM if( inline_cta_bg_color_258356 !='' ){ Bagli was the first to uncover and report in depth on Saters criminal past. Tom Heneghan Explosive Intelligence Briefings He also asserted that he had secured financing for the project through the Russian state-owned VTB Bank, which was under sanctions by the United States government. This was a group of storytellers.. Felix Sater is back. Felix Sater was informant for feds on mob and bin Laden, docs reveal - CNN [emailprotected], Law&Crime's managing editor Adam Klasfeld has spent more than a decade on the legal beat. tn_ptype: 'article', They are. It was Felix Sater, the loyal old family friend and occasional business partner, who had convinced him that luxury real estate was the way to go, top-end stuff. Thank you Lowell Bergman for inviting me to speak and meet your wonderful class and amazing students at University of California Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism @UCBerkeley @UCBerkeleyNews @UCBerkeleyIRP pic.twitter.com/8FRudqMerN, Felix Sater (@felixsater) September 29, 2018. This project was facilitated by Michael Cohen, then an attorney for the Trump Organization, and from January 2016 to May 2017 Trump's personal attorney. Have Voters Noticed? [23][25][26] In 1991, he smashed a margarita glass in a bar and used it to stab a commodities broker in the face, causing the man to need 110 stitches. However, Trump has distanced himself from Sater, stating that he barely knew him. jQuery("#magazine_button_258356").html(magazine_button_text_258356); }. About the only thing the two seem to have in common is that they are both Jewish and roughly the same age. Yet the role of Sater and Cohen, both Trump associates, contributed to the growing belief in Washington that Trump, who has steadily refused to criticize Putin for his authoritarian excesses, extrajudicial killings, and suppression of free expression in Russia, has questionable ties to Russia. Moreover, Sater holds an American nationality and belongs to a Russian-American ethnicity. Russia-born dealmaker linked to Trump assists laundering probe How did I get to Donald? Well, Sater was involved in the Russian Mafia at the starting of his career. [37] On 20 February 2017, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rejected Russia "leasing" Crimea from Ukraine claiming "we cannot rent from ourselves". Before in 2006, Sater also served as the director of Bayrock Group LLC and as a senior advisor to Donald Trump and The Trump Organization. They met in Brighton Beach when Cohen started dating his future wife, Shusterman's daughter, Laura, who Sater says he knew. magazine_button_text_258356 = ''; According to the Times, citing other defendants in the case, Sater pled guilty to racketeering charges for bilking at least $40 million from his investors. } if( magazine_button_url_258356 !='' ){ So Larry and Poppy would both tell stories about how they would go out together, go grab a drink, and then somebody would start a fight, and they would both end up fighting in a bar brawl on way more than one occasion, Rosario told a jury, explaining why she was scared to leave their orbit. VIDEO: People in Denmark Are a Lot Happier Than People in the United States. inline_cta_button_text_258356 = ''; @NewYorkerFest @adamdavidson @RuthMarcus @DavidBarstow @MichaelAvenatti pic.twitter.com/l5QBJSqNLA, Felix Sater (@felixsater) October 7, 2018. inline_cta_text_258356 = '

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