by Nomad
In my pursuit of something new, I often go back to something old. In this case, to May 1991. I found an article written by the
late Christopher Byron, a veteran financial writer of Wall Street and all of the 1990s shenanigans that went on. In this piece published in
New York Magazine (May 1991), Trump plays only a cameo appearance.
The piece is, in fact, about a New York investigative agency, Kroll Associates. Based in
Midtown Manhattan,
New York City the firm had specialized in digging up dirt in the world of finance.
In the 1980s, corporations would consult Kroll regarding in investors, suitors and takeover targets.
"with special attention to any perceived connections to disreputable organizations, suspicious business practices, personality and integrity issues, or any kind of corporate malfeasance " The CIA of Wall Street, you could say.
Its founder,
Jules Kroll, recalled a short tale of his encounter with businessman Donald Trump.
Byron wrote:
Donald Trump.. told me that he had once used Kroll for "a certain matter" and that the investigator's work had been "superb."
"You can quote me on that," said Trump.
A week or so later, however, Kroll himself supplied an unexpected reason for Trump's thumbs-up endorsement. According to Jules, Trump hired Kroll Associates four or five years ago to investigate whether Atlantic City's Plaza casino which Trump was negotiating to buy, had become "mobbed up."
"It was a tough assignment," said Kroll, shaking his head. "One of the people we interviewed was murdered three days after we spoke to him."
