Dirty Laundry

Trump’s largest Atlantic City casino, the Taj Mahal, was caught breaking money-laundering laws at least 106 times in its first years of operation. The story was broken by CNN in May of 2017, based on records obtained from Congressional investigators.

The Trump Taj Mahal casino broke anti-money laundering rules 106 times in its first year and a half of operation in the early 1990s, according to the IRS in a 1998 settlement agreement. It’s a bit of forgotten history that’s buried in federal records held by an investigative unit of the Treasury Department, records that congressional committees investigating Trump’s ties to Russia have obtained access to, CNN has learned.  (CNN, May 22, 2017)

The prosecution of drug dealers for laundering money at Trump Taj Mahal was not a national news story, however it did make the front page of The Philadelphia Inquirer on December 29, 1999. Here is an image of that day’s front page. Scroll down for a close up of the story.

The story noted that members of a cartel based in Hong Kong had laundered $70,000 earned from drug sales made in the United States. The laundered money was then couriered directly to Hong Kong.