FBI Has Questions About Michael Cohens Shady Taxicab Business [View all]
Source: Huffington Post
04/10/2018 08:38 pm ET
The president’s attorney has been linked to some of the most notorious owners in the industry.
By Molly Redden
The FBI raid on lawyer Michael Cohen was reportedly prompted by a business entanglement that could sink his career ― but investigators are also seeking information about Cohen’s involvement in the New York City taxi business where he got his start, sources told CNN.
Since President Donald Trump’s personal attorney first entered the taxi business in the mid-1990s, his modest fleet has linked him to some of the most notorious owners in the industry. According to one recent estimate that Cohen himself disputes, he owns 34 medallions. Most are operated by Evgeny Freidman ― the “taxi king” of New York City until last spring, when the city stripped Friedman of his ability to hold a license. Freidman was arrested in June for an unpaid state tax bill totaling $5 million.
Cohen’s checkered business partnerships stretch back to the very beginning of his taxi ventures. According to documents HuffPost viewed, Cohen inherited part of his taxi empire from his wife’s parents. His father-in-law, Fima Shusterman, became embroiled in a major industry scandal, pleading guilty in 1993 to structuring money transactions to get around legal reporting requirements. Shusterman’s crime was endorsing a $38,000 check signed by Harold Wapnick, a tax preparer with a widespread reputation for helping taxi drivers avoid taxes. Wapnick was later convicted of tax evasion.
In the years following, Cohen joined or assumed ownership of five companies his in-laws had formed or financed to purchase taxicab medallions. And his alliances with questionable business partners continued as all five companies placed some of their medallions under “taxi king” Friedman’s management.
Read more: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/michael-cohen-taxis-trump_us_5acd29fde4b06a6aac8cb374
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