“The Life We Chose, William ‘Big Billy’ D’Elia and The Last Secrets of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Family” tells the story of a little known Pennsylvania based Mob powerhouse and his behind the scenes life of the organized crime
The former president got the brush from a former prominent Mafia power: Billy D’Elia.
In a new biography of him, D’Elia says he did business with former President Trump when he owned casinos in Atlantic City in the 1980s, and that Trump shaved $1 million from a real estate deal…by flipping a coin.
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The Feds say D’Elia, known as “Big Billy,” ran the Buffalino Crime Family, based in Pennsylvania, for decades. He honored his profession on the side of the family name, the legendary Russel Buffalino, whom Robert F. Kennedy called “one of the most ruthless and powerful Mafia leaders in the United States.”
D’Elia assumed leadership of the family when Buffalino died in 1994. It is said that he was so trusted and respected by all the mob families in the country, that in the 1990s he was asked to take on the crime family. in Philadelphia to quell the murderous war. leaving bloodstains on the city streets in “Brotherly Love.” He refused.
D’Elia said he dealt with Trump when he owned flashy New Jersey shore casinos such as the “Trump Taj Mahal,” “The Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino,” and “The Trump Marina Hotel and Casino.”
“(He’s) like he’s on TV now, arrogant. He doesn’t keep his word.”
The revelations about Trump are contained in a new book about D’Elia, “The Life We Chose, William ‘Big Billy’ D’Elia and the Last Secrets of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Family,” by veteran journalist Matt Birkbeck. Birkbeck covered D’Elia and the Buffalino Crime Family for decades in northeastern Pennsylvania, and is the author of the biography “The Quiet Don,” about the crime family’s namesake, Russell Buffalino.
Portrait of Donald Trump on 5th Avenue outside Trump Tower. NYC 1987 (Getty Images)
“Trump, when he was negotiating, he didn’t want his lawyers to do it.
“Billy did business with a lot of people, including Donald Trump,” he said. “Trump knows exactly who he is, Trump knows exactly what he’s doing and exactly what they’re negotiating.”
Birkbeck said in a negotiation involving the sale of time shares in properties owned by Trump, the future president relied on Billy to buy several copies of his book, “The Art of The Deal” as part of a deal.
“They used to give these rewards and gifts to people who would share time, and one of the gifts was a copy of the book, only Billy had to buy the book. Book the best-seller charts. Basically, Billy has to put up $100,000.”
In another deal, D’Elia says Trump agreed to buy a piece of property involving his “Trump Plaza” casino, but backed out of the deal only because it would be settled at the flip of a ticket. coins…for $1 million.
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D’Elia said he attended a meeting with Trump and Philadelphia-based real estate brothers Barry and Ken Shapiro, who own the property, and agreed to buy the land for $8 million, that is until Trump shows up and refuses to pay the amount. promised.
“Trump said he couldn’t give him eight million, that he only had seven,” D’Elia said. “So now what are you going to do, wait?”
“We were in this meeting with Trump (D’Elia said) and Barry said, ‘Let’s flip a coin for another million.’ Trump said well, so they flipped a coin and Trump won.
Barry Shapiro corroborated the Fox News story about Trump flipping a coin to cut the sale price.
Shapiro, now 85, says his group, including his late brother Ken, actually sold the Atlantic City property to Trump for $1 million less than the price Trump agreed to, and that the coin toss decided it.
“The Life We Choose, William ‘Big Billy’ D’Elia and the Last Secrets of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Family,” by Matt Birkbeck. (HarperCollins/William Morrow)
“The sale price was actually $8 million, and Trump only paid $7 because he flipped a coin to my brother, Ken to save a million,” Shapiro said.
“We gave him a 15-year loan and he paid it back.”
The phone card and time share proposals never materialized.
Trump has not been charged with any criminal wrongdoing related to his casino deals and he passed the legal requirements to own and operate casinos in Atlantic City, which are regulated by the New Jersey Casino. Control Commission and its Division of Gaming Enforcement.
A Trump campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, disputed D’Elia’s claims.
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ – MAY 8: A sign marks the Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino May 8, 2004 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts, Inc., which is $1.8 billion in debt, posted a first quarter loss on April 30, 2004 of $48 million, double its losses in the same quarter last year. The company said gambling revenue declined $6 million from the year-ago quarter at the Taj Mahal hotel and casino amid growing competition. Trump Plaza casino on the boardwalk reported a decline of $4.4 million, and Trump Marina’s revenue was down $300,000. (Getty Images)
In a statement to Fox News, Cheung said that he “will not dignify the response of a book that belongs in the bargain bin of the fiction section.”
But this isn’t the first time Trump has been said to rely on a coin toss in a trade negotiation.
In 2017 a Wall Street investment banker, Ken Moelis, told Business Insider that in the middle of a heated negotiation, Trump “looked at me and he went ‘-we’re a million dollars away.’ distance – and he said ‘I told you what, I’ll buy you for it.’ And he reached into his pocket and took out a coin”
Moelis said he checked the coin to make sure it was legitimate, and when he flipped it, “it flew across the table to Trump, who he immediately knew was a mistake … and said, ‘Heads. you’re a loser.'”
Moelis is now a billionaire investment banker, who has been described as the businessman who “launched Trump’s casinos on the stock exchange” and has long been associated with the former president.
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In addition to recounting his dealings with Trump, D’Elia’s book also examines his representation of superstar singer Michael Jackson, along with manager Frank DiLeo, who is known as ‘Tookie.’ at one of Trump’s casinos in Atlantic City but Jackson refused to perform at a casino.
As for “Tookie,” although he’s a longtime music industry executive who’s worked with stars from Prince to Ozzy Osborne, he’s best known to the public for playing the tough mobster who ” Tuddy,” in the classic film “Goodfellas.” He died in 2011.
Now D’Elia has left his mob life behind and is enjoying a quiet retirement. He served five years in prison after pleading guilty to money laundering, conspiracy and witness tampering in 2009. He was never a mob informant and never testified against any suspected member of organized crime.
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D’Elia sat down for an exclusive interview for the Fox Nation series about Jimmy Hoffa, “Timo: The Search for James R. Hoffa.” He was featured in the latest episode, number 6, “The Last Suspect,” about the FBI’s remaining suspect in Hoffa’s disappearance, Gabe Briguglio.
