Crime

'Taxi King' Of New York Pleads, Flips On Michael Cohen

The walls close in on Cohen, will he be the next to flip?

By  
on

President Donald Trump continues to cause confusion by complaining that the F.B.I. was “spying” on him. In a rational world, saying that the F.B.I. had enough evidence to authorize an informant to infiltrate your campaign wouldn’t be the kind of thing you talked about in public. But, whatever, Spygate plays well on Fox, I guess. And the people who watch Fox are the only people Trump cares about.

MEANWHILE, on Earth 2, the investigation into Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen continues apace. Yesterday, a major “witch” fell. Evgeny A. Freidman, a key business associate of Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to a minor tax evasion charge, and agreed to cooperate fully with the government’s investigation.

Freidman is one of the shadowy figures that actually makes New York City run. He’s known as the “Taxi King” of New York and the reporting that has come out about his importance has been fascinating. He’s a Russian immigrant who once owned over 800 taxi medallions. You basically couldn’t be involved in the taxi business in New York City without dealing with “Gene” Freidman.

Cohen got his start in the taxi business. Freidman flipping is a major development in the case against Cohen. The New York Times reports:

The broadened scope of Mr. Freidman’s cooperation may prove worrisome not only to Mr. Cohen, who is the target of a continuing federal investigation, but also Mr. Trump.

The president’s lawyers are already resigned to the strong possibility that the inquiry into Mr. Cohen’s businesses could lead him to cooperate with federal prosecutors. That likelihood may now be greater, with Mr. Freidman potentially sharing what he knows with federal prosecutors in New York and the special counsel.

Mr. Freidman has been Mr. Cohen’s partner in the taxi business for years, managing cabs for him even after New York City regulators barred Mr. Freidman last year from continuing to manage medallions.

The Trump regime responded through its skeletal mouthpiece, Rudy Giuliani: “[Trump’s] just not involved in the taxis.”

Yes, Rudy, nobody is investigating Trump for taxi fraud. But when Cohen sings to save his skin, do you really think he’ll be telling tales about hack licenses?

Sponsored

There are so many people who have flipped, and so many more still to come. It’s a good thing Trump owns the Republican party, otherwise he’d be in real trouble.

Michael Cohen’s Business Partner Agrees to Cooperate as Part of Plea Deal [New York Times]

Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.

Sponsored

Topics

, , ,