(USA Today) Allen Weisselberg, Donald Trump’s longtime top business lieutenant, pleaded guilty Thursday to all 15 criminal charges in a scheme that paid him lavish corporate benefits in off-the-books payments from the Trump Organization without paying taxes. The deal with the Manhattan district attorney’s office requires him to testify truthfully about the scheme if called as a government witness at the scheduled October trial of two companies of the Trump Organization which Weisselberg long served as chief financial officer. Weisselberg wanted to end “the years long legal and personal nightmares it has caused for him and his family. If he fulfills all parts of the deal, including waiving the right to appeal, he’s expected to be sentenced to five months of jail time, followed by five years of probation. The deal terms require Weisselberg, 75, to pay nearly $2 million in New York State and city taxes and penalties. The Trump Organization issued a statement that accused Manhattan prosecutors of attempting to pressure Weisselberg “to say bad things or make up lies about Donald Trump.” (The Gabber)
