Trump Organization chief operating officer not expected to be charged in fraud probe, his attorney says

Trump Organization Chief Operating Officer Matthew Calamari, who was being investigated by prosecutors as part of a wide-ranging probe into the former president’s company, is not expected to be charged in the case, his attorney said Wednesday.

Calamari attorney Nicholas Gravante Jr. confirmed to NBC News that he’d been told by prosecutors for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office that “at present, they do not intend to charge him.”

A spokesperson for District Attorney Cy Vance declined to comment on Gravante’s statement, which was first reported by The New York Times.

The Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, were charged in July in what prosecutors described as a 15-year scheme to compensate top executives of former President Donald Trump’s company “off the books” and help them avoid paying taxes.

The Trump Organization pleaded not guilty to charges that included tax fraud and falsifying business records. Weisselberg, 74, pleaded not guilty to grand larceny and tax fraud charges, among others, after prosecutors accused him of personally avoiding taxes on $1.7 million of his income.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people close to the matter, reported in June that Calamari, Trump’s former bodyguard, was being investigated over whether he too received tax-free fringe benefits from the company. A person familiar with the matter confirmed to NBC News in June that Calamari was under investigation.

In September, NBC reported that Calamari’s son Matthew Calamari Jr., who also works for the company, had been called to testify before the grand jury hearing evidence in the district attorney’s probe into whether Trump and his company misled banks, insurance companies or the State of New York on his tax returns as to the value of his properties or the internal financial workings of his company.

The probe by Vance, which led to two Supreme Court fights and resulted in Trump’s accountants having to turn over his tax returns, has been ongoing since at least the summer of 2019.

Vance has indicated he intends to conclude the investigation by the end of his term, which expires on Dec. 31. He will be succeeded by fellow Democrat Alvin Bragg, who investigated the now-shuttered Trump Foundation when he was with the New York State Attorney General’s office.

Asked by MSNBC’s Ari Melber in June how he would approach the Trump Organization investigation, Bragg said, “I go where the facts go.”