He said he and other executives knew their practices were illegal — and ended them after Trump took office. The company paid Weisselberg and at least one other executive for personal expenses, allowing them to avoid income taxes and the company to avoid payroll taxes. He also paid bonuses to executives on tax forms who claimed to be independent contractors when they were actually employees, he said. “Sir. Trump became president, and everybody was looking at our company from every different angle you could think of,” Weiselberg said, adding that the company wanted to “make sure we fix everything we need to fix.” Until the cleanup, Weisselberg received a free apartment on the Upper West Side, a Mercedes Benz for himself and his wife, private school tuition for his grandchildren, cash for vacation tips and other expenses. On Thursday, he explained how Trump began personally selecting his two grandchildren to attend Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School at a cost of about $100,000 a year. He was in Trump’s office when his son, Donald Trump Jr., arrived with tuition for his own children. Trump joked, “I might as well pay for your grandkids,” according to Weisselberg. Weiselberg later brought Trump an invoice for the tuition and agreed to pay it. Weiselberg promised to repay him. While he initially took the benefits on top of his salary, Weiselberg eventually instructed an employee to deduct the value from his salary and bonus. “Between the rent for the apartment, the school fees, we had a car or two — I thought the amount they were giving me was too much and the right thing to do was to go back to the company for it,” he said. But he chose to do it that way rather than pay his own costs to evade taxes, he acknowledged on the stand. “It allowed me to pay pre-tax,” he said, adding that, “I knew the amount they quoted [on tax forms] was wrong.” Defense attorneys argued that Weiselberg carried out the plan alone, but on Thursday, Weiselberg exposed the involvement of several other top figures in the Trump Organization. He said the company’s controller, Jeffrey McConney, who handled the documents, knew the deal was illegal. “I definitely think in my mind that he knew that too,” he said. He claimed that another Trump executive, Matthew Calamari, the chief executive, was also paid his expenses by the company tax-free. Weisselberg’s son Barry, who managed Wollman Rink in Central Park, acquired a Trump-owned condo on Central Park South. Weisselberg, Calamari, McConney and several other executives received their bonuses on a 1099, a tax form intended for the self-employed. That, Weisselberg said, allowed the company to avoid payroll taxes and for executives to open tax-deferred retirement accounts for which only the self-employed qualify. That practice, Weisselberg said, began in the 1980s before he began working at the Trump Organization. Weiselberg is testifying against his employer after pleading guilty to 15 criminal charges in August. Under the deal, he will serve five months in prison if he testifies truthfully. Asked by prosecutors Thursday why he pleaded guilty, he said: “I was guilty of these crimes.” On the first day of his deposition earlier this week, Weiselberg revealed that he remains on the Trump Organization’s payroll at full salary and held a birthday party at Trump Tower the same day he finalized his plea deal. On cross-examination later Thursday, a Trump Organization defense attorney tried to prove that Weiselberg carried out the scheme for his own benefit, without the knowledge of the Trump family. “It was my personal greed that led to this,” Weisselberg said. Weiselberg became emotional, his voice breaking as he admitted that he is embarrassed and ashamed of what he did. “More than you can imagine,” he said. Trump Organization lawyer Alan Futerfas pressed Weiselberg about who conspired in the scheme. He said he conspired with McConney, but not with any member of the Trump family. Weiselberg said he had an almost family relationship with the Trumps after 50 years of working for the family and was deeply trusted. “Wasn’t it your responsibility to protect the family and protect these companies from this kind of trouble?” asked Futherface. Weisselberg said that was true.
