Phil Ruffin just lied about Trump’s record paying his bills, saying he pays them “promptly,” and “nobody lost any money.” Truth is, Trump has failed to pay his bills time and time again and even shorted some of his employees.
RUFFIN’S LIE: “He always pays his bills promptly… No discounts. Nobody lost any money on it.”
THE TRUTH
Donald Trump failed to pay J. Michael Diehl, owner of Freehold Music Center, around $100,000 for eight grand pianos.
“J. Michael Diehl, who owns Freehold Music Center, sold Trump eight Yamaha grand pianos for around $100,000. ‘He put out a bid for pianos about a year before the Taj opened. I won the bid. I delivered the pianos, and I waited and I waited to get paid. And finally I heard from them that I had three choices: to accept 70 percent of the bid or to wait until the casino could afford to pay the bill in full. Or I could force them into bankruptcy with everybody else and maybe get 10 cents on the dollar. I took the 70 percent, and I lost 30 percent.’‘
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Diehl: “I had three choices: to accept 70 percent of the bid or to wait until the casino could afford to pay the bill in full. Or I could force them into bankruptcy with everybody else and maybe get 10 cents on the dollar.”
“J. Michael Diehl, who owns Freehold Music Center, sold Trump eight Yamaha grand pianos for around $100,000. ‘He put out a bid for pianos about a year before the Taj opened. I won the bid. I delivered the pianos, and I waited and I waited to get paid. And finally I heard from them that I had three choices: to accept 70 percent of the bid or to wait until the casino could afford to pay the bill in full. Or I could force them into bankruptcy with everybody else and maybe get 10 cents on the dollar. I took the 70 percent, and I lost 30 percent.’‘ [Newsweek, 10/30/15]
Donald Trump’s Doral resort was forced into foreclosure by a judge to pay off a Florida paint contractor stiffed by Trump.
“Juan Carlos Enriquez, owner of The Paint Spot, in South Florida, has been waiting more than two years to get paid for his work at the Doral. The Paint Spot first filed a lien against Trump’s course, then filed a lawsuit asking a Florida judge to intervene. In courtroom testimony, the manager of the general contractor for the Doral renovation admitted that a decision was made not to pay The Paint Spot because Trump ‘already paid enough.’ As the construction manager spoke, ‘Trump’s trial attorneys visibly winced, began breathing heavily, and attempted to make eye contact’ with the witness, the judge noted in his ruling. That, and other evidence, convinced the judge The Paint Spot’s claim was credible. He ordered last month that the Doral resort be foreclosed on, sold, and the proceeds used to pay Enriquez the money he was owed. Trump’s attorneys have since filed a motion to delay the sale, and the contest continues. Enriquez still hasn’t been paid.” [USA Today, 6/9/16]
Donald Trump sued a Florida chandelier small business to avoid paying the full cost of services provided.
“Some small businesses, such as Classic Chandeliers in West Palm Beach, Fla., decided they couldn’t afford to fight. In 2004, Mr. Trump chose 5-foot-wide chandeliers with 75 bulbs from the store, said Judith Jacobson, who said she designed the fixture and worked there with her ex-husband, Nicolas Jacobson, the owner. Mr. Trump’s representatives negotiated to buy three chandeliers for his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida for $34,000 total with a 50% down payment, according to court records. ‘The fact that he was Trump,’ Ms. Jacobson said, ‘my ex-husband said ‘OK, we wouldn’t have any problems with someone who has the means.’ ‘ Mr. Trump later sued Classic Chandeliers in Palm Beach County, Fla., court saying he shouldn’t have to pay in full because the company didn’t install the chandeliers properly. Mr. Jacobson, whose last name was spelled Jacobsen in the lawsuit, denied the claim. Court records show the suit was dropped in 2006 after a planned mediation.” [Wall Street Journal, 6/9/16]
Rob Kimmons, a private detective, sued Donald Trump for failing to pay him for monitoring the private detective hired by Ivana Trump to spy on Donald Trump and Marla Maples.
“A private detective is suing Donald Trump for more than $5,000 in unpaid fees for keeping tabs last summer on another detective hired by Trump’s ex-wife. Rob Kimmons, owner of an investigative firm in Houston, claims Trump failed to pay him for monitoring another Houston private eye retained by Ivana Trump to watch her husband and Marla Maples.” [Orlando Sentinel, 2/16/91]
Two Virginia lawyers accused Donald Trump of failing to pay their firm.
“Two Richmond-area lawyers say their firm is getting stiffed by Donald Trump and they want out of a lawsuit in Charlottesville federal court. A Trump spokesperson blames the dispute on shoddy work by the Virginia lawyers. The lawyers from Cook, Heyward, Lee, Hopper & Feehan PC of Glen Allen are asking a federal judge to let them out of the lawsuit pitting the New York financier against the bank that owns the embattled Kluge mansion in Albemarle County. Two Trump-owned entities – defendants in the case – have ‘failed to meet their financial obligations’ to the lawyers and the firm, wrote David D. Hopper in a motion filed Friday. It would work a hardship on the lawyers and the firm to require them to continue to represent Trump ‘without being paid,’ Hopper said.” [Virginia Lawyers Weekly, 12/2/11]
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Donald Trump faced a nearly $95,000 lawsuit for missed legal fees.
“Lawyer David Hopper, who worked for Trump Organization and other Trump companies, sued in Virginia federal court claiming that in 2011 they owed him $94,511.35 in legal fees. After invoices from Mr. Hopper went unfilled for more than 60 days, Trump representatives had told his firm the bills were ‘too high’ and it should agree to cap its fees or reduce them by 70%, according to court filings. In response, Mr. Hopper withdrew from representing a Trump company in a federal case.” [Wall Street Journal, 6/9/16]
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One of the lawyers accused Donald Trump of “defamation” after a Trump lawyer called his work “shoddy.”
“After a Trump lawyer called Mr. Hopper’s work ‘shoddy’ in a local publication, Mr. Hopper filed his suit, alleging defamation and breach of contract. Trump lawyers responded that the business didn’t owe the money and denied defaming him.” [Wall Street Journal, 6/9/16]
Donald Trump strung along an Ohio fiberglass business for a $3 million bill.
“Five hundred miles away, in Ashtabula, Ohio, Robert Morrison of the Molded Fiber Glass Co. was pressing his workers to finish the domes and minarets and other faux Moorish ornaments in time for the April opening — and worrying about who was going to pay for all of it. An invoice sent a few weeks earlier for $1.4 million still hadn’t been paid. […] Morrison of Molded Fiber Glass was getting desperate for his money and so he turned to Irwin Tobman, a field supervisor in Atlantic City overseeing the installation of the domes and minarets. Tobman had been told earlier by a Trump official that the delay in sending the check was due to a ‘slight glitch.’ ‘We got to get the job done,’ Tobman recalls the Trump guy saying. ‘Put in as many hours as you have to — unlimited overtime.’ Tobman drove his staff hard, in three shifts — 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He pressed Trump’s people again, and got a familiar answer: You’ll get the money in two weeks, no problem. Two months later, Molded Fiber Glass was still waiting. Trump was ‘stringing us along,’ says Tobman. ‘What he did was wrong.’ On June 12, Molded Fiber Glass sued for the $3 million it was owed. ” [Associated Press, 6/28/16]
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Molded Fiber Glass Co. was forced to write off $2 million of a $3 million bill, and its owner was forced to borrow money to pay off companies he hired to complete Donald Trump’s project.
“Molded Fiber Glass never removed its domes, choosing instead to join with Lundy and 46 others in a negotiated settlement with Trump for cash equal to 33 cents of each dollar owed, plus 50 cents in convertible bonds, according to Morrison’s book. Trump also threw in a ‘right of first refusal,’ meaning the contractors would get future work at the Taj if they matched the best bid from others. The bonds would eventually pay in full, but the holders had to wait at least several years. Strapped for money, some contractors sold them immediately, getting a fraction of what they were worth at maturity. Among the sellers was Morrison of Molded Fiber Glass, according to Tobman, his man in Atlantic City. Morrison ended up having to write off $2 million of the $3 million that Trump owed him, according to his book. The company refused to comment. Tobman says Trump’s cash crunch left Morrison with no money to pay the dozen companies he had hired to help with the Taj work. But Morrison paid them anyway, Tobman recalls, by borrowing the money. ‘Morrison knew no other way but to pay his bills,’ says Tobman. ‘A handshake meant everything.’” [Associated Press, 6/28/16]
Donald Trump hired Eric Silverstein for a $800,000 sign painting job, but Silverstein was offered just 50 cents on the dollar upon completion.
“Does toughness necessarily translate into more money for Trump? Ask Eric Silverstein. His sign-painting company had been working overtime to get ready for the opening of Trump Plaza, one of Trump’s Atlantic City casinos. Silverstein was a minor contractor on a huge project. But for him, the $800,000 fee was enormous. No choice: Trump kept asking for small improvements in his work, Silverstein says, and delayed payment until they were completed. Then, he claims, Robert Trump, who managed the project for Donald, called Silverstein to a meeting he swears took place in one of the hotel’s men’s rooms. Trump, Silverstein says, had a new offer. He would give him 50 cents on the dollar to settle the contact. If he didn’t like it, he claims he was told, he could sue. Silverstein says he had little choice. A suit would take years, and he simply couldn’t afford the legal fees.” [Newsweek, 9/28/87]
Donald Trump refused to pay a $1.2 million bill to an Atlantic City paver.
“Weak from heart surgery and a sepsis infection that would soon kill her, Patricia Paone was resting at home last summer when an apparition appeared on the TV — a famous businessman who had struck a deal with her husband years before. ‘He’s a crook!’ she roared, according to a son who was with her that day. ‘I can’t listen to this.’ A quarter of a century had passed since Donald Trump refused to pay $1.2 million for the paving stones her late husband installed at Atlantic City’s Taj Mahal casino. But for Paone and others like her — the dozens of contractors and their families who never got all they were owed — it could have happened yesterday.” [Associated Press, 6/28/16]
Donald Trump paid contractors on his Taj Mahal casino just 33 cents on the dollar after the casino failed with a promise of 50 cents later for the businesses that survived long enough.
“Of all the real estate and casino deals in Trump’s long career, the Taj arguably sheds the most light on how the would-be U.S. president handles crises. It was his biggest gamble, the ‘eighth wonder of the world,’ as he dubbed it. And when it went south, his moves to avoid a financial hit to his empire hobbled many small businesses with little cushion to absorb the blow. After the Taj opened in April 1990, the self-anointed ‘King of Debt’ owed $70 million to 253 contractors employing thousands who built the domes and minarets, put up the glass and drywall, laid the pipes and installed everything from chandeliers to bathroom fixtures. A year later, when the casino collapsed into bankruptcy, those owed the most got only 33 cents in cash for each dollar owed, with promises of another 50 cents later. It took years to get the rest, assuming the companies survived long enough to collect.” [Associated Press, 6/28/16]
Newsweek: Atlantic City contractors with Trump “were so accustomed to getting paid cents on the dollar that they habitually built in an extra percentage.”
“In 1991, the Trump Taj Mahal Casino, which had opened just a year before, filed for bankruptcy. Trump had financed it with $900 million in junk bonds. Although the company—and not Trump personally—filed for bankruptcy, he unloaded his Trump Princess yacht, his Trump Shuttle airline and stakes in other businesses. The Taj bankruptcy hit Atlantic City’s small businesses much harder. Trump already had a reputation for being a very tough negotiator with suppliers—an echo of his campaign promise to negotiate the best trade deals for America. Contractors were so accustomed to getting paid cents on the dollar that they habitually built in an extra percentage, according to one Atlantic City bankruptcy lawyer.” [Newsweek, 10/30/15]
Former Atlantic City Mayor Jim Whelan: “There were a lot of small contractors and vendors who got hurt, who went out of business because Trump did not pay contracts on time.”
“New Jersey state Senator Jim Whelan, Atlantic City’s mayor during the Trump years, and other sources who asked not to be quoted say Trump had a bad reputation among vendors even before the bankruptcies. ‘The fact is, there were a lot of small contractors and vendors who got hurt, who went out of business because Trump did not pay contracts on time,’ he says.” [Newsweek, 10/30/15]
Atlantic City bankruptcy lawyer on Trump’s shorted contractors: “It wasn’t just the money; a lot of these guys went into depression.”
“‘Anytime I went to Atlantic City and I’d see that Trump sign, I’d think of the little guys,’ says bankruptcy lawyer Arthur Abramowitz who worked with contractors for years after the casino itself went bankrupt. ‘It wasn’t just the money; a lot of these guys went into depression.’” [Associated Press, 6/28/16]
Atlantic City contractor on working for Donald Trump: “We got next to nothing.”
“‘We got next to nothing,’ says Michael MacLeod, whose 40-person studio made the giant elephant statues at the entrance to Taj. ‘I took a big hit.’” [Associated Press, 6/28/16]
Atlantic City contractor: “If ethics or morality has nothing to do with business, [Donald Trump is] a very good businessman.”
“Marty Rosenberg, former vice president of Atlantic Plate Glass, was among two dozen contractors and their survivors caught in the aftermath of the Taj bankruptcy who were interviewed by The Associated Press. He says the way Trump handled the contractors shows the candidate is shrewd and clever, qualities his fans seem to like in the presidential candidate. But he says Trump won’t get his vote. ‘If ethics or morality has nothing to do with business,’ Rosenberg says, ‘he’s a very good businessman.’” [Associated Press, 6/28/16]
US Roofing Corp. President Dave Farragut: Donald Trump was “notorious for stringing people out and not paying.”
“Contractors, who often bear the brunt of corporate bankruptcy, regarded Trump ‘as a jerk and a bum,’ said Dave Farragut, president of United States Roofing Corp., a large roofing firm based in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Trump was a chronic haggler ‘notorious for stringing people out and not paying,’ according to Farragut, who said he experienced that firsthand on a $600,000 roofing job at Trump Taj Mahal. ‘It was a joke among all the subs that you’d tack on an extra 10 percent onto your bids’ to hedge against delayed payments, he said. ‘He was slow pay, everybody knew.’” [Press of Atlantic City, 8/10/15]
Atlantic City union president: Donald Trump’s failure to pay contractors was “jeopardizing these people’s medical coverage, and their pension benefits have not been paid.”
“Donald Trump is in arrears on more than $50 million in contractors’ bills for his Taj Mahal Casino in Atlantic City, the construction manager of the project said Monday. The last time Trump paid anything to his construction manager, who is still owed $1.6 million, was ‘sometime in March,’ said Craig Miner, a spokesman for the company, Perini Corp. of Framingham, Mass. Miner said he could not disclose how long it has been since Trump paid the subcontractors, who represent the bulk of the delinquent debt. Meanwhile, workers have been pulled off the job and some construction workers are in danger of losing medical insurance coverage because of Trump’s failure to pay his bills, said Tom Stapleton, president of a Local 27 of the Sheet Metal Workers Union in Atlantic City. Unpaid subcontractors have withheld benefit payments to union workers, Stapleton said. ‘They’re jeopardizing these people’s medical coverage, and their pension benefits have not been paid,’ Stapleton said.” [United Press International, 6/4/90]
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Tom Stapleton: “There’s 60 boys on my bench because of’ Trump’s failure to pay.”
“Although it opened in April, construction at the Taj Mahal is continuing, including work on a theater, a health club and several restaurants. But Miner aid Perini is virtually finished with its part and will be off the job next week. [Local 27 of the Sheet Metal Workers Union Tom] Stapleton said there is a ‘tremendous amount of work left,’ but his men have been called off the job because of lack of payment. ‘There’s 60 boys on my bench because of’ Trump’s failure to pay,’ Stapleton said.” [United Press International, 6/4/90]
Trump Shorted His Employees
Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort faced a federal lawsuit from a dishwasher over failure to pay time-and-a-half overtime for three years. “But the lawsuits show Trump’s organization wages Goliath vs David legal battles over small amounts of money that are negligible to the billionaire and his executives — but devastating to his much-smaller foes. In 2007, for instance, dishwasher Guy Dorcinvil filed a federal lawsuit against Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club resort in Palm Beach, Fla., alleging the club failed to pay time-and-a-half for overtime he worked over three years and the company failed to keep proper time records for employees.” [USA Today, 6/9/16]
Donald Trump’s Trump Miami Resort Management LLC settled with 48 servers for failure to pay overtime. “Just last month, Trump Miami Resort Management LLC settled with 48 servers at his Miami golf resort over failing to pay overtime for a special event. The settlements averaged about $800 for each worker and as high as $3,000 for one, according to court records. Some workers put in 20-hour days over the 10-day Passover event atTrump National Doral Miami, the lawsuit contends. Trump’s team initially argued a contractor hired the workers, and he wasn’t responsible, and counter-sued the contractor demanding payment. ‘Trump could have settled it right off the bat, but they wanted to fight it out, that’s their M.O.’ said Rod Hannah, of Plantation, Fla., the lawyer who represented the workers, who he said are forbidden from talking about the case in public. ‘They’re known for their aggressiveness, and if you have the money, why not?’” [USA Today, 6/9/16]
Donald Trump paid $475,000 to settle a class action lawsuit filed by nearly 300 of his Los Angeles golf club employees that alleged unpaid wages, among other offenses. “Offscreen, hundreds of current and former Trump Organization employees have accused the company of being less than fair and more than tough. Multiple lawsuits have targeted Trump’s businesses over the years with allegations ranging from anti-union intimidation to hiring undocumented workers. In one case, the Trump Organization paid $475,000 to settle a claim with nearly 300 Los Angeles golf club employees in a class-action suit alleging unpaid wages and age discrimination, among other offenses.” [International Business Times, 3/14/16]