 |
| Photo Credit: AP. |
Former President Donald Trump’s top executive Thursday agreed to testify against the company in plea bargain after pleaded guilty for tax evasion on a free apartment, according to The Associated Press.
Who is Allen Weisselberg?
Allen
Weisselberg, 75, a former longtime chief financial officer and a senior Trump
Organization adviser pleaded guilty to all 15 of the charges brought against
him in the case, The Associated Press reports.
Weisselberg admitted
taking in over $1.7 million worth of untaxed extras – including school tuition
for his grandchildren, a free rent for a Manhattan apartment and lease payments
for a luxury car as well as keeping some of the records off the books,
according to The Associated Press.
Judge Juan
Manuel Merchan would sentence Weisselberg to five months in New York City’s
Rikers island jail complex at a latter date and he shall be eligible for
release after three months if he behaves during his jail time, according to The
Associated Press. The judge said Weisselberg will pay nearly $2 million in
taxes, penalties and interest and complete five years of probation.
What does prosecutors want in Weisselberg's plea deal?
The plea
bargain mandates Weisselberg to testify truthfully as a prosecution witness in
a Trump Organization trial scheduled for October on tax avoidance and other
related charges. The company is accused of helping Weisselberg and other executives
avoid income taxes by failing to report their full compensation accurately to
the government, according to The Associated Press.
Weisselberg
will remain free on bail until his sentencing. Prosecutors said they would
pursue a “significant state prison sentence” if Weisselberg fails to comply
with the plea deal and he could face up to 15 years relating to grand felony.
The Associated Press reported that Weisselberg’s lawyer Nicholas Gravante Jr. said his client pleaded guilty “to put an end to this case and the years-long legal and personal nightmares it has caused for him and his family.”
Does Weisselberg's plea implicate the Trump Organization?
Manhattan
District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that Weisselberg’s plea
“directly implicates the Trump Organization in a wide range of criminal
activity and requires Weisselberg to provide invaluable testimony in the
upcoming trial against the corporation,” according to The Associated Press.
“We look
forward to proving our case in court against the Trump Organization,” he added.
Weisselberg is a "trusted, honorable employee" - The Trump Organization
On Thursday,
the company praised Weisselberg as a trusted, honorable employee, noting that
he has been “persecuted and threatened by law enforcement, particularly the
Manhattan district attorney, in their never-ending, politically motivated quest
to get President Trump,” according to The Associated Press.
The company
accused prosecutors of trying to pressure Weisselberg to cast aspersions on
Trump and of stretching to make a criminal case out of familiar executive perks
such as a company car.