Interview · moment 3 of 14
Trump Tower's Sketchy Tenants and Felix Sater's Rise
from Boss of Bosses (with Russ Baker) · #38
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
3 minGuest
Discussion of how Trump Tower's condo structure attracted Russian oligarchs and mobsters, including a mob-connected woman and a murderer Trump sat with in person, leading into the introduction of Felix Sater, a Russian-born ex-con who stabbed a man with a margarita glass and ran pump-and-dump stock schemes.
- 4:20Trump Tower's co-op competitors on Fifth and Park Avenues require financial documents, but newer condos attract people with questionable money sources — Russian oligarchs, gangsters, many later arrested for nefarious activities.
- 5:04Felix Sater worked closely with Trump and linked all these sketchy connections together, though Trump now claims he'd have trouble identifying him in a room.
- 5:36Trump's statement about having trouble identifying someone could technically mean he'd get in trouble for identifying them — a distinction that changes the meaning entirely.
- 5:51Trump's phrasing about having no business in Russia doesn't preclude having business in other former Soviet republics or through partners.
- 6:18Trump Tower's top three floors were his triplex, with interesting characters occupying the floors directly below.
- 6:50One tenant was the girlfriend of the mobbed-up concrete union boss — the same union that built Trump Tower — with unclear sources of wealth buying multiple apartments.
- 7:06The girlfriend wanted to combine her apartments and install a swimming pool, and Trump apparently helped her get approval.
Trump TowerDonald TrumpFelix SaterFifth AvenueGeorge H. W. Bush