Interview · moment 6 of 14
Sater Turns Informant and Joins Bayrock/Trump Tower
from Boss of Bosses (with Russ Baker) · #38
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
4 minGuest
Sater cooperates with the FBI to avoid a $40 million liability and jail time, his record gets sealed, he changes the spelling of his name, and he joins Bayrock, the real estate firm that partners with Trump on projects like Trump SoHo, funded by murky former-Soviet money.
- 17:15Tim compares the Russian mob's reach to a James Bond villain network operating across banks and legitimate businesses.
- 17:43The Russian mob was better than the Italian mafia at infiltrating legitimate business and relationships with major banks.
- 18:13At the apex of society, gangsters, bankers, and politicians sit at the same table together.
- 18:29Tim distinguishes between the underworld and what he calls the overworld—legitimate players with criminal tendencies who make or are friends with lawmakers.
- 18:59The FBI determined Felix Sater was involved in operations orchestrated at a higher level by Mogilievich.
- 20:00Felix Sater made a deal with the FBI, offering to cooperate and inform on figures like Mogilievich.
- 20:33Sater's motivation for turning informant stemmed from personal liability of approximately forty million dollars.
Russian MafiaFelix SaterBank of New YorkMughlievichFBIDepartment of JusticeWhite RockSafra BankState Street