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Craig Unger
164 quotes
“Russian gangsters became... Putin’s enforcers. ... told me, in effect, "the Mafia is one of the branches of the Russian government..." ...Putin’s greatest triumph is his... state... of, by, and for organized crime.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As... Karen Dawisha explains in Putin’s Kleptocracy... [this] made Vladimir Putin the richest man in the world...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: , Putin’s Kleptocracy:Who Owns Russia? (2014)
“Cohn, as for the two biggest crime families in New York, the Genoveses and the Gambinos, was invaluable in helping Trump traverse... contractors... and the like, controlled by the mob.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As early as 1990... Trump had negative . ...[I]n 1991, the Trump Taj Mahal ...became the first of six ...bankruptcies. ...Later two other Trump casinos ...agreed to pay fines for "willfully failing to report" currency transactions ...and failing to comply with laws ...to prevent .”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“As Putin’s ascent began, the Mafia moved into a... strategic position... to compromise... political figures and businessmen in the United States... and exploit... weaknesses... as campaign finance, Washington lobbying... [etc.]”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“landed at JFK... 1992, just after the fall of the Soviet Union... the most powerful Russian mobster in the United States... oversaw the mob’s growth from a local racket in Brooklyn’s to a multibilliondollar-a-year criminal organization.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 1989 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: 1) , Red Mafiya (2000) 2) Selwyn Raab, "Mob-Linked Businessman Killed in Brooklyn," New York Times, May 3, 1989. 3) USDOT Inspector General, "Two Plead Guilty in Fuel-Tax-Evasion Case" January 22, 1998
“Ivankov’s mandate from Mogilevich... consolidate the Russian Mafia in the US... form alliances with... other Mafias... bribe politicians....infiltrate governments... [T]he Russians began scrutinizing... vulnerabilities of America’s campaign finance system, the K Street lobbying system, Wall Street... [etc.]”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: Robert G. Kaiser, , "Citizen K Street: How lobbying became Washington's biggest business—Big money creates a new capital city. As lobbying booms, Washington and politics are transformed" Washington Post, (Sep 6, 20…
“Ivankov recruited two brigades... of 250 athletes and... veterans of the Afghan war... to kill his enemies and establish ties...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 1996 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: Intelligence Section, Organizational Intelligence Unit, " Organization Eurasian Organized Crime," Federal Bureau of Investigation, August 1996.
“Even after he was locked up... in 1996, Ivankov continued to order... s... Witnesses... were forced to take new identities... FBI agents who investigated him ended up on his hit list. The same was true for journalists.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: 1) , Red Mafiya (2000)
“Vladimir Putin... had leapfrogged... to take charge of the Russian secret service... bringing in confederates from ...the , and purging... enemies...[including two counterintelligence Directorates]... charged with investigating high-level economic crimes, which... involved Putin and his allies. ...Putin made sure ...both ...were ...eliminated. Having control over agencies that had the power to investigate you was... indispensible...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: , Putin’s Kleptocracy:Who Owns Russia? (2014)
“[A]fter Putin’s appointment... s newspaper... headlined "Vladimir Putin Became Head of the FSB Unlawfully." ...[T]wo men assaulted him ...shattering his skull ...He died ...[S]ix men... held a... press conference in Moscow. All... had investigated organized crime for the FSB... [T]hey told... journalists... the... unit... had been transformed into a brutal and corrupt criminal enterprise...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: Steven Lee Myers, The New Tsar: The Rise and Reign of Vladimir Putin (2016)
“[[w:1999 Russian apartment bombings|[H]einous bombings]] that killed... three hundred... were likely the product of a "" operation that enabled Putin to consolidate power, much as Adolf Hitler did after the .”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: Alexander Litvinenko, , : The Secret Plot to Bring Back KGB Terror (2007)
“Mogilevich’s plans for globalization continued.... Having set up... YBM Magnex, he... dispatched Dr. Jacob (Yakov) Bogatin... David Bogatin’s brother, to its... Pennsylvania branch to become CEO. ...1998, the FBI raided... In 2003, Mogilevich... Bogatin, and Igor Fisherman... were indicted on... counts for... $150 million stock fraud.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: , "The Curious World of Donald Trump’s Private Russian Connections" American Interest December 19, 2016.
“Strategic relationships... were vital to Mogilevich... to insinuate himself into the... Ukraine energy trade... to siphon... huge sums of money. A key figure... helping... was Dmitry Firtash. ...His most important link... Igor Fisherman... a high-level aide to ... Department of Justice ...identified Firtash ...an "upper-echelon [associate] of Russian organized crime.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: 1) Stefan Wagstyl, Tom Warner, "Gazprom’s Secretive Ukrainian Partner Tells of Lone Struggle to Build Business" Financial Times April 28, 2006. 2) United States of America v. Mogilevich, Fisherman, Bogatin, and Tso…
“Firtash’s “success was built on remarkable sweetheart deals brokered by associates of... Vladimir Putin, at immense cost to Russian taxpayers.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: , Tom Bergin, Sevgil Musaieva Roman Anin, "Special Report: Putin’s Allies" Reuters Nov 26, 2014.
“[A]n American businessman... [was] talking to a rich Uzbek cotton trader about the pay-for-play K Street lobbyists in Washington. The Uzbek... "You mean you have firms with highly paid professionals who are paid to bribe congressmen?" He couldn’t get over it. Americans had sanitized corruption, institutionalized it, and made it into part of the white-collar, professional world! Not only was it legal, it was a highly paid profession.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Trump had a unique résumé for... a presidential track. ...[T]ies to Russian money stretched... two decades... laundering money, s and real estate were the vehicles of choice...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In 1998... FinCEN... assessed a $477,700 civil penalty against the Trump Taj Mahal... [T]he casino admitted to "willful and repeated" violations, including... ... and record-keeping requirements... 106 violations...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: Maxine Waters, , , Al Green, , House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services letter to Steven Mnuchin, May 23, 2017.
“[T]he Russians knew, real estate was... [an] efficient way to launder billions in flight capital, and Trump’s newest projects were perfectly suited... [e.g.,] Trump World Tower...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“...Eduard Nektalov ...bought a condo ... directly below ...Kellyanne Conway. ...Nektalov ...related to Lev Leviev ...was being investigated by a Treasury Department ...for mob-connected money laundering. He and his father, Roman Nektalov, had been targeted in Operation Meltdown... that uncovered a scheme through which diamond merchants laundered $8 million in Colombian drug proceeds. ...May 2004 ...a ...man ...fired once in ...Nektalov’s head ...two more ...into his back ...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2004 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: 1) Brad Hamilton, "Diamond District's Very Own 'Godfather' Exposed" New York Post, November 25, 2017. 2) Craig Horowitz, "Iced" New York, November, 29, 2004.
“...Trump came to the conclusion that it is better to do business with crooks than with honest people," said ...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Russians had billions of dollars from illicit sources... Trump ...in dire need of financing, had ...ideal vehicles for laundering ...real estate ...casinos ...and a history of not asking too many questions ...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Trump struck a deal... to attach his name to three high-rises in Sunny Isles Beach ... known as "Little Moscow." ...[A]t least sixty-three buyers with Russian addresses or passports spent $98 million on Trump's properties in South Florida.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: 1) Caleb Melby, Kery Geiger, "Behind Trump’s Russia Romance, There’s a Tower Full of Oligarchs" 2) Nathan Layne, Ned Parker, Svetlana Reiter, , Ryan McNeill, "Russian Elite Invested Nearly $100 Million in Trump Bui…
“Trump specifically marketed his Sunny Isles, Florida, apartment units in... [Russia] to attract... organized crime money"...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: McCallion & Associates, "The FBI Confirm That It Already Has an Ongoing Investigation of Tramp and His Russian Connections" October 31, 2016.
“[T]o turn a blind eye to practices that allowed the Russian mob to launder money through his real estate on a massive scale... required a third party... largely staffed, owned, and financed by émigrés from... the former Soviet Union... [on] the twenty-fourth floor of .”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the wake of his massive debts and multiple bankruptcies, Wall Street... said no... The banks... said no to Trump. ...But Bayrock ...said yes...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“... was Bayrock's... man... Sater’s FBI handler described Felix’s father, Michael Sheferovsky... "a... Mogilevich crime syndicate boss." Felix... as a teenager, counted among his friends Michael D. Cohen...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[T]hough Sater had lost his license to trade stocks, in 1993, he... had... a penthouse office suite at ... owned by Donald Trump. ...Sater and ...friends sold the stocks ...in an illegal pump-and-dump scheme...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: Charles V. Bagli, "Real Estate Executive With Hand in Trump Projects Rose From Tangled Past" New York Times Dec 17, 2007.
“With the help of Sater’s father, the firm got protection from the Genovese family, and Sater used an alias.. to launder... proceeds... [A] mob operation... cheating unsuspecting investors out of $40 million.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2000 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: Alan Feuer, "19 Charged in Stock Scheme Tied to Mob" New York Times Mar 3, 2000.
“Bayrock planned to build the Trump SoHo in New York,.. [and various Trump Projects and properties]. ...[I]ts ...list of strategic partners was topped with... "The Trump Organization"...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Bayrock... brought into Donald Trump’s orbit a host of oligarchs and alleged mobsters involved in laundering money, the trafficking of underage women, feeding intelligence to the Russians... [etc.].”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Bayrock’s leadership... billionaire oligarchs from the former Soviet Union.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Given... control over.. oligarchs was crucial to... power, Putin needed to... keep tabs on... their money... If... the or other forms of flight capital were funding a Trumpbranded project... If oligarchs were buying scores of Trump condos... Putin wanted to know.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Vnesheconombank, or VEB... bought $850 million of stock... from Shnaider... $15 million... went into the Trump Toronto project. ...[T]he chairman of VEB’s ...board ...Vladimir Putin.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: Rob Barry, , Brett Forrest, "Russian State-Run Bank Financed Deal Involving Trump Hotel Partner" Wall Street Journal May 17, 2017.
“[O]ne Trump-branded project after another was beset by corruption, lawsuits... [etc]. Trump licensed Trump Tower Baku to close relatives of ... described in a diplomatic cable as "notoriously corrupt even for Azerbaijan.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: Adam Davidson, "Donald Trump’s Worst Deal" New Yorker Mar 13, 2017.
“With 's Rabbi leading the way, the Federation... was... providing Putin... a Jewish "umbrella"... to battle ... who... back[ed] candidates opposed to Putin. ...Lazar and Leviev ...promised Putin that they would... "open doors to the corridors of power in Washington.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2005 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: , "No Love Lost ...A guide to the wars of the Jewish oligarchs in Russia" Dec 8, 2005.
“[T]he biggest contributor to ... was Leviev... who had a direct line to Rabbi ... Donald Trump, and... Putin... Leviev would make major real estate transactions with Jared Kushner...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: , "The Happy-Go-Lucky Jewish Group That Connects Trump and Putin: Where Trump's real estate world meets a top religious ally of the Kremlin" Politico (Apr 9, 2017)
“[[Donald Trump|[H]e]] was a vulgar... vile... misogynistic, racist... buffoon who knew only his own pecuniary interests and prejudices... He was clownish and repellant... his... spectacles amplified by a sycophantic right-wing media.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[H]e... implemented anti-science... policies that... led to... deaths of hundreds of thousands...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Fascism was in the air.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[A] malevolent narcissist... at the helm... deliberately infected the nation with a murderous stupidity... of supporters who lived in a cultlike world of paranoid fantasies and magical thinking, blithely spreading... Trumpian hate and lethal disease... weaponized by Russian intelligence via social media, and incorporated into paranoid conspiracies by... extremist cults.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Deceit was the new norm. ...Trump’s lies from the Washington Posts "Fact Checker" ...passed twenty thousand. ...[N]ow ...anti-science ... Lies that killed...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“... "In the intelligence business, we would say that Mr. Putin had recruited Mr. Trump as an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: Michael J. Morell, "I Ran the C.I.A. Now I’m Endorsing Hillary Clinton" New York Times (Aug 5, 2016)
“Michael Hayden... called... Trump "a clear and present danger" to America's... security and "a ," a term... attributed to Vladimir Lenin...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2016 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: CNN (Aug 9, 2016)
“James Clapper asserted... Trump was... an intelligence "asset" serving... Putin.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) first seen 2017 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ref: CNN, (Dec 18, 2017)
“John Brennan declared Trump... "...in the pocket of Putin" and... on ... he... called Trump’s behavior "treasonous, which is to betray... trust and aid and abet the enemy...”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[[w:Intelligence assessment|[I]ntelligence]] operations are designed to operate within the law... [L]ax regulations... enforcement, and the... nature of counterintelligence, has given the Russians... latitude.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[T]his is a country... in which it's possible to take money... [and] establish communications with Russian intelligence, and... to be a Russian asset without breaking the law. Russians can hire... attorneys as lobbyists, who... have access to... secrets... to get what they want.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[I]ntelligence operations... [brought] Trump into the 's fold... compromised him through... money-laundering schemes, sycophantic flattery... extravagantly well-paid franchising projects... [etc.]”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[D]uring the 2016 election cycle, the... FSB... found plenty of ways to subvert America’s elections without breaking the law.”
Craig Unger (born 1949) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source