In March 2000, shortly after announcing he would not run for president that year, Donald Trump dispatched one of his top real estate executives to South Korea on an important business errand.
In Seoul, Wallach said, he was going to meet with Daewoo, the Korean conglomerate that was funding construction of the New York skyscraper known as Trump World Tower.
Just days before that flight, though, Wallach went off on an errand of his own, walking out of a Nordstrom store in White Plains, N.Y., with two crystal vases purchased with a credit card bearing the name “Anthony Greto.” And two months after the scheduled trip to Seoul, Wallach returned to the same Nordstrom with a different stolen credit card. He picked out a $600 Salvatore Ferragamo handbag and — this time with a store security officer watching — signed the name “Meg Osman.” He was arrested and admitted charging another $1,000 worth of jewelry to the same woman’s American Express card.
Wallach was one of Trump’s top executives for perhaps the most critical decade of the business magnate’s career. He helped Trump craft multimillion-dollar deals, built relationships with global real estate moguls, and spearheaded projects that would help lift Trump’s businesses out of bankruptcy.
But before, during, and after working for Trump, Wallach was a habitual criminal. Over a period of 30 years, he collected at least 15 arrests in five states, four separate felony convictions — for crimes including forgery, grand larceny, and making false statements to prosecutors — and three jail sentences, according to an extensive Globe review of court records.
Trump was apparently in the dark about all of this until near the end of their long association. Through a campaign spokeswoman, Trump confirmed, however, that he knew of Wallach’s theft habits during the last year he employed him.
During his presidential campaign, Trump has said repeatedly that he has hired and will hire only the “best people.” [But] Trump’s employment of Wallach as one of his close business associates raises additional doubt about his hiring practices and acumen.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/po...ory.html?p1=Article_Recommended_ReadMore_Pos1
In Seoul, Wallach said, he was going to meet with Daewoo, the Korean conglomerate that was funding construction of the New York skyscraper known as Trump World Tower.
Just days before that flight, though, Wallach went off on an errand of his own, walking out of a Nordstrom store in White Plains, N.Y., with two crystal vases purchased with a credit card bearing the name “Anthony Greto.” And two months after the scheduled trip to Seoul, Wallach returned to the same Nordstrom with a different stolen credit card. He picked out a $600 Salvatore Ferragamo handbag and — this time with a store security officer watching — signed the name “Meg Osman.” He was arrested and admitted charging another $1,000 worth of jewelry to the same woman’s American Express card.
Wallach was one of Trump’s top executives for perhaps the most critical decade of the business magnate’s career. He helped Trump craft multimillion-dollar deals, built relationships with global real estate moguls, and spearheaded projects that would help lift Trump’s businesses out of bankruptcy.
But before, during, and after working for Trump, Wallach was a habitual criminal. Over a period of 30 years, he collected at least 15 arrests in five states, four separate felony convictions — for crimes including forgery, grand larceny, and making false statements to prosecutors — and three jail sentences, according to an extensive Globe review of court records.
Trump was apparently in the dark about all of this until near the end of their long association. Through a campaign spokeswoman, Trump confirmed, however, that he knew of Wallach’s theft habits during the last year he employed him.
During his presidential campaign, Trump has said repeatedly that he has hired and will hire only the “best people.” [But] Trump’s employment of Wallach as one of his close business associates raises additional doubt about his hiring practices and acumen.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/po...ory.html?p1=Article_Recommended_ReadMore_Pos1
