Molly Crane-Newman / New York Daily News (TNS)
NEW YORK — The Trump Organization’s long-serving financial gatekeeper pleaded guilty to 15 felonies on Thursday and directly implicated Donald Trump’s family real estate business in a multi-year criminal tax fraud scheme.
Allen Weisselberg admitted to receiving more than $1.7 million in off-the-books perks while chief financial officer of the Trump Organization on top of his handsome salary, defrauding the taxpayers and Uncle Sam by disguising them as work expenses.
Weisselberg also implicated Jeff McConney, the senior vice president and controller of the Trump Organization. McConney, who the judge identified as “unindicted co-conspirator number one” was the first Trump employee to testify before the special grand jury that heard evidence against the former president in 2021 and has been with the company for more than 36 years.
Assistant District Attorney Joshua Steinglass said prosecutors will recommend “significant state prison” time for Weisselberg — 5 to 15 years — if he breaks any of the rules of his agreement.
“If you fail to testify truthfully at the upcoming trial of the Trump Organization,” Judge Juan Merchan told Weisselberg, “I would then not be bound by my sentence promise.”
The Daily News spotted Weisselberg arriving for his plea hearing at around 9:30 a.m., entering the lower Manhattan courthouse via Manhattan District Attorney Alvin…
