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Trump may lose tenants by accusing the government of wire-tapping Trump Towers. It appears that the FBI probably did wiretap Trump Towers from 2011-2013 in relation to this case. So many questionable characters have lived in Trump Towers that the FBI may need to have all of them permanently tapped. They would save time. In fact, they had better be bugging Trump Towers! This is real life Monopoly, alright: “Go to Jail, Go Directly to Jail“. (The US Attorney in the case, Preet Bharara, was just asked to leave his position, along with 45 other attorneys, after being told that he could stay on: https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2017/03/11/us-senate-judiciary-committee-member-statement-on-abrupt-firing-of-all-46-remaining-us-attorney-by-the-trump-administration )

According to Assistant US Attorney Harris Fischman, Vadim Trincher “directed much of the international racketeering enterprise from his $5 million apartment in Trump Tower…. Trincher’s apartment is located directly below one owned by Donald Trump, authorities said.” (Moscow Times, April 17 2013).

Some accounts made the gambling parties sound big. The New York Times spoke of all-night games with stakes as high as $ 2 million: “At one game, in an apartment in a glass condominium tower on Fifth Avenue, … its organizers suspected that a new player did not belong,… The new player was an undercover F.B.I. agent.” (NYT, May 18, 2013) This has to be Trump Tower 5th Ave.

And, yet, the same Trump who has complained about airplanes flying too close to his Florida Estate noticed nothing for almost a decade? The FBI has been described, by some, as raiding Trump Towers in April 2013, because of this case, as well.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The sentences meted out to Anatoly Golubchik and Vadim Trincher are just and appropriate penalties for the roles the defendants played in this far-reaching, Russian-American organized crime ring. I’d like to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York City Police Department, and the Internal Revenue Service for their tireless efforts in working to ensure that the members of this underground enterprise were held to account for their crimes… The Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization operated under the protection of Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, who is known as a “Vor,” a term translated as “Thief-in-Law,” that refers to a member of a select group of high-level criminals from the former Soviet Union. Tokhtakhounov used his status as a Vor to resolve disputes with clients of the high-stakes illegal gambling operation with implicit and sometimes explicit threats of violence and economic harm…” (US DOJ, April 30, 2014)

Tokhtakhounov is still at large in Moscow.

“Tokhtakhunov says he is personally acquainted with only two of the accused –Vadim Trincher and Anatoly Golubchik, both of whom are seen as major players in the alleged crime ring,…” (Balmforth and Kirilenko, 2013)

“International Russian Organized Crime Ring Does Old-School Gambling in a New Way” Published: Monday, 13 May 2013 14:42 WRITTEN BY OCCRP, By Alec Luhn, “… The main players include a notorious Russian thief-in-law (the equivalent of an Italian mafia don), a billionaire art mogul, a J.P. Morgan banker, a Hollywood poker hostess and the Russian-born ringleader — poker pro Vadim Trincher, who lived in Trump Tower in a $5 million apartment directly beneath that of “The Donald” himself….” [NYU professor, Galeotti, cited in the article, as follows] “The Trincher case “speaks to the old cliches … smoke-filled rooms of gambling,… It sets back a growing awareness of what Russian organized crime really means. These days, it’s fraud of all kinds.” … As they did in the Trincher investigation, US authorities, and in particular the US Treasury Department’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence are increasingly able to tackle Russian organized crime by tracking money flows…” Read the article here: https://www.occrp.org/en/investigations/1953-international-russian-organized-crime-ring-does-old-school-gambling-in-a-new-way
New head of the US Treasury: https://miningawareness.wordpress.com/2017/01/21/trump-treasury-pick-mnuchin-foreclosure-king-unfair-taxation-and-destroying-sears-pension-senator-wyden-statement/

“U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of New York
April 30, 2014
Two Defendants Sentenced for Participating in Racketeering Conspiracy with Russian-American Organized Crime Enterprise Operating International Sportsbook That Laundered More Than $100 Million

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ANATOLY GOLUBCHIK was sentenced yesterday in Manhattan federal court to five years in prison, and VADIM TRINCHER was also sentenced today to five years in prison for participating in a racketeering conspiracy in connection with their roles as members of a Russian-American organized crime enterprise.

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were also each ordered to forfeit more than $20 million in cash, investments, and real property. They were charged in April 2013 along with 32 other alleged members and associates of two Russian-American organized crime enterprises in an indictment that included racketeering, money laundering, extortion, and various gambling offenses. GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said: “The sentences meted out to Anatoly Golubchik and Vadim Trincher are just and appropriate penalties for the roles the defendants played in this far-reaching, Russian-American organized crime ring. I’d like to thank the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York City Police Department, and the Internal Revenue Service for their tireless efforts in working to ensure that the members of this underground enterprise were held to account for their crimes.”

According to the indictment, other documents filed in Manhattan federal court, and statements made at various proceedings in this case, including today’s sentencing:

The Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization (the “Organization”) was a criminal enterprise with strong ties to Russia and Ukraine. The enterprise operated a high-stakes, illegal sports gambling business out of New York City that catered primarily to Russian oligarchs living in Ukraine and Russia.

GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER were U.S.-based participants in the enterprise. GOLUBCHIK and TRINCHER booked sports bets that reached into the millions of dollars and laundered the proceeds of the Organization’s international sportsbook.

Between 2006 and April 2012, the enterprise laundered approximately $100 million in proceeds from their gambling operation in Russia and Ukraine through shell companies and bank accounts in Cyprus; and of this $100 million, approximately $50 million was subsequently sent from Cyprus into the United States. Once the money had been transferred to the United States, it was either laundered through additional shell companies or invested in legitimate investments, such as hedge funds and real estate.

The Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization operated under the protection of Alimzhan Tokhtakhounov, who is known as a “Vor,” a term translated as “Thief-in-Law,” that refers to a member of a select group of high-level criminals from the former Soviet Union. Tokhtakhounov used his status as a Vor to resolve disputes with clients of the high-stakes illegal gambling operation with implicit and sometimes explicit threats of violence and economic harm.

Between December 2011 and February 2013, Tokhtakhounov was paid at least approximately $12 million for his services by the Taiwanchik-Trincher Organization. Tokhtakhounov is also under indictment in the Southern District of New York for his alleged involvement in bribing officials at the 2002 Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Tokhtakhounov is a fugitive and is still being sought.
***
Twenty-eight defendants in this case have pled guilty and two have entered into deferred prosecution agreements. The defendants who have pled to date have agreed to forfeit, in total, more than $68 million. The following defendants have pled guilty, and have been sentenced or await sentencing:
* Bryan Zuriff pled guilty to gambling charges on July 26, 2013, and was sentenced on November 25, 2013.
* William Barbalat pled guilty to gambling charges on August 14, 2013, and was sentenced on December 16, 2013.
* Kirill Rapoport pled guilty to gambling charges on August 16, 2013, and was sentenced on December 19, 2014.
* Edwin Ting and Justin Smith pled guilty to gambling charges on September 4, 2013, and were sentenced on January 21, 2014, and January 6, 2014, respectively.
* Dmitry Druzhinsky and David Aaron pled guilty to gambling charges on October 4, 2013, and were sentenced on April 18, 2014, and February 14, 2014, respectively.
* Alexander Zaverukha pled guilty to gambling charges on October 10, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1, 2014.
* Nicholas Hirsch pled guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud on October 16, 2013, and was sentenced on February 25, 2014.
* Anatoly Shteyngrob pled guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering on October 17, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 10, 2014.
* Yugeshwar Rajkumar pled guilty to gambling charges on October 18, 2013, and was sentenced on March 25, 2014.
* Stan Greenberg pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering on October 22, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2014.
* Arthur Azen pled guilty to conspiring to commit money laundering and conspiring to collect extensions of credit by extortionate means on November 5, 2013, and was sentenced on April 9, 2014.
* Hillel Nahmad pled guilty to gambling charges on November 12, 2013, and was sentenced on April 30, 2014.
* Vadim Trincher pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering on November 14, 2013, and was sentenced on April 30, 2014.
* Eugene Trincher pled guilty to gambling charges on November 14, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 9, 2014.
* Anatoly Golubchik pled guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering on November 15, 2013, and was sentenced on April 29, 2014.
* Illya Trincher pled guilty to gambling charges on November 15, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8, 2014.
* Ronald Uy pled guilty to structuring financial transactions on November 25, 2013, and was sentenced on March 27, 2014.
* Moshe Oratz pled guilty to gambling charges on December 3, 2013, and was sentenced on April 9, 2014.
* Michael Sall pled guilty to interstate travel in aid of an unlawful activity (illegal gambling) and Jonathan Hirsch pled guilty to gambling charges on December 4, 2013. Sall was sentenced on April 18, 2014, and Hirsch is scheduled to be sentenced on May 9, 2014.
* Noah Siegel pled guilty to gambling charges on December 5, 2013, and was sentenced on April 10, 2014.
* Molly Bloom pled guilty to gambling charges on December 12, 2013, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2, 2014.
* Alexander Katchaloff pled guilty to gambling charges on January 16, 2014, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20, 2014.
* Donald McCalmont, John Jarekci, a/k/a “John Hanson,” and Abraham Mosseri pled guilty to making a fraudulent tax statement, to failing to file a tax return, and causing a financial institution to participate in a lottery related matter, respectively, on January 24, 2014, and are scheduled to be sentenced on May 29, 2014, May 28, 2014, and May 21, 2014, respectively.
* William Edler and Peter Feldman entered into deferred prosecution agreements on April 11, 2014.

Mr. Bharara praised the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New York City Police Department, and the Internal Revenue Service.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Harris M. Fischman, Joshua A. Naftalis, Peter J. Skinner, and Kristy J. Greenberg of the Violent and Organized Crime Unit are in charge of the prosecution.

AssistantU.S. Attorney Alexander Wilson of the Office’s Money Laundering and Asset Forfeiture Unit is responsible for the forfeiture aspects of the case.” US Department of Justice

Lengthy Indictment: https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao-sdny/legacy/2015/03/25/Tokhtakhounov%2C%20Alimzhan%20et%20al.%20Indictment_0.pdf




“Tokhtakhunov says he is personally acquainted with only two of the accused –Vadim Trincher and Anatoly Golubchik, both of whom are seen as major players in the alleged crime ring,” according to “Taiwanchik, Moscow Is ‘Paradise’“, May 31, 2013, Tom Balmforth and Anastasia Kirilenko, RFERL http://www.rferl.org/a/russia-alimzhan-tokhtakhunov-taiwanchik-indictment/25003328.html (While RFERL is funded by the US, Balmforth appears to buy into whatever the people he interviews says. In short, he appears more Russian propaganda than RT news. In 2013 RFERL had a quasi-independent board. This year, Trump sent people in to supervise after VOA reported unfavorably about Trump crowd size obsession.)

“Recordings made over the last two years provide a glimpse into the shadowy, and illegal, world of high-stakes gambling in New York City” https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/18/nyregion/fbi-tapes-give-glimpse-into-world-of-high-stakes-gambling.html

“How Did an Alleged Russian Mobster End Up on Trump’s Red Carpet? And here’s a coincidence: The guy was indicted for being part of a global gambling ring run out of Trump Tower.”, by DAVID CORN AND HANNAH LEVINTOVA SEP. 14, 2016, Mother Jones.


“Feds take down high-stakes poker, sports booking ring favorited by A-list celebs, Wall Street fat cats” NANCY DILLON IN LOS ANGELES, ROBERT GEARTY DANIEL BEEKMAN, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, Wednesday, April 17, 2013, 4:33 AM

Trump Tower: Vadim Trincher. His family still owns the property $5 million apartment, according to Bloomberg. Read about the many unsavory characters who have called Trump Towers home here: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2016-trump-tower

NY Post: http://nypost.com/2013/11/14/poker-pro-admits-running-100m-gambling-ring-out-of-home/


https://www.scribd.com/mobile/document/277143980/U-S-Seeks-Arrest-of-Reputed-Russian-Mobster-News-The-Moscow-Times

“U.S. Seeks Arrest of Reputed Russian Mobster, April 17, 2013: https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/us-seeks-arrest-of-reputed-russian-mobster-23337

http://proudemocrat.com/breaking-donald-trump-exposed-for-ties-to-a-prominent-russian-mobster-details/