Trump’s Mob buddy; Cubs win!

As we mentioned yesterday, despite no longer being in existence, Donald Trump‘s fallen casino empire continues to make news. Today it’s his relationship with Robert LiButti, a figure so mobbed up that he was barred from New Jersey casinos in 1991 for his ties to John Gotti. Trump has denied knowing LiButti but newly unearthed video (which you can find at Yahoo News) shows the two men side by side at a 1988 Wrestlemania event in Atlantic City. Worse yet, Trump Plaza had to pay $650,000 in fines for hosting LiButti. “The Wrestlemania event is just one of many times that Trump was close to Bob, who was the biggest loser at Trump’s casinos and therefore Trump’s most important customer,” said former Philadelphia Inquirer reporter David Cay Johnston. Incredibly — well, credibly for him — Trump once said of LiButti, “If he was standing in front of me I wouldn’t know what he looked like.” Who knew Trump’s eyesight was so poor?

LiButti was certainly Trump’s kind of guy, having demanded that women and African-Americans employees be kept at a distance while he gambled, using what regulators called the “vilest” verbiage. His gems included “dumb cunt,” “black bastard” and “Jew broad.” Trump’s tolerance of this conduct was sufficient to bring a $200,000 fine down upon his well-coiffed head. (Trump, it should be remembered, enjoys the Ku Klux Klan‘s presidential endorsement.) LiButti was also a sore loser — sound familiar? — given to throwing dice or once even breaking the craps stick when luck went against him.

Trump’s cozy deals with Mob associates, whether in getting Trump Tower built or
buying Atlantic City land at triple the going rate, are a matter of public record. Racketeer Felix Sauter was employed by the Trump Organization. In the case of LiButti, Trump’s largesse was profligate, including $1.6 million worth of automobiles (which the mobster flipped for cash), and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of vacations, sports tickets and jewelry. LiButti also sold Trump a racehorse, “D.J. Trump,” but The Donald characteristically welshed on the deal when the horse pulled up lame.

LiButti may be deceased but his daughter, Edith Creamer, isn’t taking Trump’s disavowal of her father lying down. Creamer was the unwelcome recipient of Trump’s extramarital advances, prompting LiButti to say, “Donald, I’ll fucking pull your balls from your legs.” Says Creamer, “it pisses me off that he denies knowing my father,” adding that LiButti was a guest on Trump’s helicopter and infamous Trump Princess yacht. Normally one might find the whole matter shocking. However, when it comes to Donald Trump, one ceases to be surprised by his past, no matter how seamy. Have we become that inured to scandal? Seems so.

* Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs, who ended a 108-year World Series drought at 12:47 this morning. It wasn’t pretty — especially manager Joe Maddon‘s decision making — but they won, which is all that will be remembered over the long haul. Condolences to Cleveland Indians fans, who will enter a 69th year of baseball Purgatory. The only billygoats to be seen were Major League Baseball and the Fox network, whose greed manifested itself in commercial breaks so interminable that it took 235 minutes to play a nine-inning game.

By the time the umpiring crew called a 10th-inning rain delay, it 11:55 p.m., long past the time working people should be in bed sleeping. Evidently it was more important to sell airtime for Trump and Hillary Clinton attack ads that made me want to fumigate my living room. Also, MLB connived to lay off most of the tickets onto the ‘secondary markets’ (legitimized scalpers), to the point where StubHub bragged that only 20% of the fans in attendance in Cleveland where Ohioans. A pox on Fox and MLB for giving ammo to all those who think baseball is slow-moving, dull and overpriced.