Summary: Donald Trump has connections with many less than ideal individuals, but only one received a reference letter claiming the two time convict was a stand up guy.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has announced during his campaign that stopping the flow of drugs across the border is an important matter for him. This may be surprising and somewhat hard to believe considering his past with a convicted drug trafficker.
Trump wrote to a judge back in 1987 to be lenient on his friend, Joseph Weichselbaum. He was convicted of distributing kilos of cocaine from Colombia. Trump told the U.S. District Court judge that Weichselbaum was “conscientious, forthright, and diligent” as well as “a credit to the community.”
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When Trump wrote the character reference letter for Weichselbaum, he was in his mid-40’s and already been convicted twice. He had a previous conviction for grand theft auto and embezzling over $130,000 from a Brooklyn manufacturing firm where he had worked in addition to his 1986 plea to federal cocaine distribution and income tax charges.
The connection does not seem like a wise choice for Trump given his sensitive relationship with New Jersey regulators regarding his casinos. The regulators were looking for opportunities to pull licenses from those mixed up either personally or professionally with unsavory people. Their connection came from Weichselbaum’s position as general manager of a helicopter company that taxied Trump’s special guests to his Atlantic City casinos.
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This was the only time Trump vouched for a criminal with a pre-sentencing letter, perhaps he learned his lesson to never do it again. He did participate as a character witness for attorney Roy Cohn before proceedings began. Cohn was eventually disbarred.
Weichselbaum was charged in the 18-count indictment of selling marijuana and cocaine for $50,000 per kilo to clients who then took the drugs to Kentucky, North Carolina, and Ohio to be distributed. He obtained the drugs from Colombian brothers Francisco and Walter Ramirex. It was alleged that he ran this operation for two-years from Miami, Florida. He avoided a trial by pleading guilty to two felony counts, which carried a maximum 18 years in prison. Weichselbaum ended up receiving a three year sentence.
Do you think Trump will bring some of these less than honest people with him to the White House should he win? Tell us your predictions in the comments below.
To learn more about Donald Trump, read Lawsuit Claims Donald Trump Raped 13-Year-Old Girl at 1990s Sex Parties.
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