If you wonder, as I do, why so many of Donald Trump’s political opponents have suddenly and inexplicably rushed to support him, you won’t find a believable answer on cable TV or in the press. There are some “issues” the mainstream media seem reluctant to examine.
The link between politics and organized crime, for example.
You won’t hear much about organized crime’s relationship with US politicians on the evening news. The election coverage we usually get is an endless regurgitation of empty rhetoric backed up by fatuous speculation disguised as “expert analysis.”
Even when the Marco Rubio campaign was at its peak, the media seemed reluctant to discuss his ties to the infamous “cocaine cowboys” in Miami.
It was a tabloid columnist who first enlightened me about Rudy Giuliani’s Mafia relatives. And I found out about Chris Christie’s ties to the Genovese “family” on an obscure web site.
But the Internet – yes I know how unreliable the Internet can be – has an abundance of evidence that would make even the most skeptical person suspect that organized crime is a powerful influence in American politics.
Furthermore, the link between crime and politics is historically documented. And the blight is not limited to the US. It’s global.
So it really shouldn’t be surprising to discover that Trump – a former casino owner – is waist deep in mob connections. Especially since one of his “senior advisors” is reportedly an ex-con named Felix Sater (at right), who served time for stabbing a man in the face with a broken cocktail glass and was later convicted in a Mafia-linked stock fraud.
In one of those endless primary debates, Ted Cruz mentioned Trump’s mob connections. When “Politifact” checked it out, the charge was found to be true.
And investigative journalist Wayne Barrett has described the tycoon’s deals with mob related companies in his book “Trump, the Deals and the Downfall.”
Even a media outlet as bland as CNN can’t completely ignore Trump’s mob ties. In a recent broadcast CNN stated:
Trump’s alleged ties to New York and Philadelphia crime families go back decades.
CNN takes care to say the connection is only “alleged” of course, but adds that some of the allegations are in a New Jersey state commission’s report on organized crime.
According to the report, Trump built his casino with the help of two construction companies controlled by Philadelphia mobsters – “Little Nicky” Scarfo (at right) and Scarfo’s nephew “Crazy Phil” Leonetti.
So when I see those craven politicians stumbling over each other to get behind Trump, I have to wonder: Did some Mafia thug like Little Nicky or Crazy Phil make them an offer they couldn’t refuse?
I know how outlandish that may seem, but is it really any more outlandish than the rest of this crazy campaign season?
