Three men, including Donald Trump, posing proudly in the center. To the left of him – a representative of a completely different “environment” – a major personality of the Philadelphia and Atlantic City mafia, Joseph Merlino, known as “Skinny Joey”, that is, “Skinny Joey.” The 45th president of the United States immortalized in a photo next to a godfather of organized crime, who has also been convicted by the courts on several occasions, that is a stain.
But Donald Trump’s entourage told the US press when the image was released on Monday: Donald Trump did not know who he was dealing with when he agreed to pose.
Merlino? “I don’t know”
Revealed on Monday by the philadelphia enquirer, it is not known precisely when the photo was taken. However, it dates from the course of this month of January, indicated the American media. The scene took place at the clubhouse of a golf course owned by Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, in his adoptive Florida. Joseph Merlino, all smiles on the right of the image, is easily identifiable.
And given his pedigree, Pennsylvanians must have had no problem recognizing the former local godfather. Described by the philadelphia enquirer as “a former violent clan leader on his rise to the helm of organized crime in Philadelphia and Atlantic City,” the man was first convicted of extortion in 2001. The ten-year-old boy who spent in prison after this sentence did not calm him down . since “Joey” was again sentenced in 2018, this time for acts related to illegal gambling. He is free since 2020.
But Donald Trump had no knowledge of his photo partner’s locker, at least if those around him are to be believed. Better yet, he didn’t even know his identity. His spokesperson thus protested against the request made to this effect by the philadelphia enquirer“President Trump takes photos with people all the time, that doesn’t mean he knows everyone he comes in contact with.”
a mobster admirer
If it is nonsense, in any case it contradicts the effectiveness of the new protocols put in place by the former head of state’s entourage after his meeting with the white supremacist Nick Fuentes, in November, reported in the press. Forbes He detailed the procedure: The billionaire’s associates are supposed to scrutinize the résumés of people who claim to be close to their boss, and an executive from his 2024 presidential campaign must make sure that surveillance is maintained.
Failure, negligence or feeling of impunity, Joseph Merlino could only be delighted to slip through the cracks of this network for the less liberated. Indeed, the criminal has testified on several occasions his admiration for the Head of State, as pointed out by the guardian.
In 2018, upon learning of his second conviction and shortly after Donald Trump lashed out at those who “turned around” when his former lawyer Michael Cohen resigned himself to cooperating with investigators seeking to clarify possible links between his 2016 campaign and Russia, the mobster opined. “President Trump was right. It should be illegal to turn your jacket,” he later approved.
“You know, in New York…”
Donald Trump has not always denied his ties to the underworld. His association with Anthony Salerno, known as “Fat Tony” or “Fat Tony” – one of New York’s most prominent mobsters until his downfall in 1988 and his death in 1992 – is well known. The young real estate mogul met him in the 1980s through the sulphurous lawyer Roy Cohn, as the investigative journalist Fabrizio Calvi documented in his book A godfather in the White House.
Most notably, Donald Trump himself admitted the possibility of these dangerous relationships when asked by CBS in 2013 if he had ever “knowingly done business with organized crime.”
The future president then responded, “You know, when you’re in New York and you do your business there, you have to run into one of these characters at some point, but in general I prefer to keep my distance from those types of people.” Before continuing : “On occasion I have met some of them. It turns out that they are very nice people. It’s just better not to owe them money. Don’t owe them money.”
Judging by the mine of Joseph Merlino on the photo, there does not appear to be any slate between the two men.
Source: BFM TV
