New York prosecutors involved in a sweeping probe of the Trump Organization are investigating Matthew Calamari, the former Donald Trump bodyguard who’s now a top executive at the former president’s company, a person familiar with the matter confirmed to NBC News.
The development was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which cited people close to the matter who said Calamari, the Trump Organization’s chief operating officer, was being investigated over whether he received tax-free fringe benefits from the company.
NBC News has not independently verified the reason for the investigation and Calamari has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
Calamari and his son, Matthew Jr., have retained New York attorney Nicholas Gravante Jr., who once represented Joe Biden’s brother James and son Hunter in a civil case.
Reached by NBC News Tuesday, Gravante declined to comment, as did Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance’s office, which is leading the investigation into the former president’s company.
Vance has been investigating a variety of allegations of financial improprieties against Trump’s company for about two years. Court documents show that Vance is probing “possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct at the Trump Organization,” which could include falsifying business records, insurance fraud and tax fraud.
The probe appears to have sharpened in recent months, with investigators from the New York Attorney General’s office joining Vance’s team. The AG’s office has been criminally investigating the personal taxes of Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Org’s chief financial officer, an official close to the investigation told NBC last month. Weisselberg’s lawyer has declined to comment on the investigation.
The DA also reportedly convened a special grand jury to begin hearing evidence in the case last month, which legal experts called a sign that charges could be imminent.
Trump ripped the Washington Post report about a special grand jury in a lengthy statement at the time, and called the investigation into the company “purely political” and “a continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in American history.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
