Before by Paul Manafort began to work on the campaign of Donald trump and helped Viktor Yanukovych to become President of Ukraine, he was going to earn a lot of money deceiving the Vatican, writes the Daily Beast .
Decades of lobbying activities of Manafort attracted unprecedented attention from Federal investigators and Congress. So many details of his activities were made public. But one interesting fact has not been reported so far.
According to two informed sources, Manafort and his business partner Rick Davis was planning to start a business with the Italian Raffaello, Faleri, who for four years have met with Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway. Accomplices had intended to use the access Follieri to the Vatican to conclude a profitable transaction on the real estate of the Catholic Church.
In 2008, an Italian, pleaded guilty to fraud, money laundering and conspiracy. He was sentenced to four years imprisonment. The access he had to the Vatican, was part of a complex Intercontinental Scam.
Federal prosecutors reported that the Italian businessman, said to investors that he is the chief financial officer of the Vatican and can use his connections in Rome for the conclusion of profitable transactions.
As noted by New York magazine, Follieri made up a story that the Vatican is seeking to sell off unused real estate to quickly get money on the costs associated with the scandals over sexual abuse of children. This version is confirmed by informed sources. Manafort and Davis with the help of Follieri was hoping to profit on a fictitious sale of real estate of the Vatican.
According to the lawsuits by Federal prosecutors, the Italian told investors that manages the finances of the Vatican, meets regularly with the Pope and enters into transactions that allow him to buy property far below market value.
Cash, Follieri received from investors was spent on services for dog walking, expensive wines and boat rentals. In addition, he has paid for Charter flights for their parents and Hathaway in the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Las Vegas and nice.
Here is John McCain celebrating his 70th birthday in Montenegro in August 2006 at a yacht party hosted by convicted felon Raffaello Follieri & Anne Hathaway. On the same day Queen K, was moored in the same bay of Kotor. Queen K is owned by “Putin’s oligarch”: Oleg Deripaska. pic.twitter.com/8dvBZzXFII
— ᴛʀᴜᴛʜ ᴡʀɪᴛᴇʀ (@WritesTruths) March 13, 2019
Political figure John weaver, who worked on the presidential campaign of late Senator McCain in 2008, told me that she had heard Davis and Manafort openly discussed their relationship with Follieri.
«They had great hopes,» said weaver.
Representative Davis did not agree with his interpretation of events.
«Mr. Davis never did business with Follieri» he said.
The representative of Falieri Melanie A. Buonvicino did not contest this information.
«The talks between Mr. Falleri, and Davis in the second half of 2007 was related to the real estate Fund, Falieri, although the parties had no business relationship,» she said.
The representative of Manafort declined to comment.
Former lawyer trump has spent his business career in pursuit of the impossible, and often illegal ideas. Including unsuccessful attempts to buy the famous Drake hotel in Manhattan at the Ukrainian oligarch Dmitry Firtash for $850 million, He also went bankrupt on investments in the Ukrainian TV channels are burning the millions he borrowed from the Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska. In addition, he has been involved in real estate transactions of his former son-in-law Jeffrey Yohai. Subsequently, the prosecutors accused him of committing several financial crimes.
A Federal judge for the district of Columbia will make the final decision on imprisonment of Manafort, adding up to 10 years to those already awarded to him to four years in prison.
