NEW: Trump Intentionally Hired Then Cheated Undocumented Workers (VIDEO)

One the most nauseating things about Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is his ability to repeat bald faced lies with complete sincerity.

For 36 years, Trump has denied knowing that he was using illegal Polish immigrants. He had hired them men to carry out pre- construction demolition at the site of what would be become his signature achievement, the famous Trump Tower.

When the question of the illegal Polish workers was raised during the primary debates, Trump claimed to have been completely removed from the decision. He said:

“I hire a contractor. The contractor then hires the subcontractor. They have people. I don’t know. I don’t remember, that was so many years ago, 35 years ago.”

Now Time reports that answer is complete bullsh*t.

The truth, according to the article, is that Donald Trump knew full well that he had hired undocumented workers. He had noticed the Polish laborers on another job near the site of his proposed tower. He approached the men, and offered to hire them for his demolition project. The foreman in charge of the work accepted the promised offer of $775, 000 dollars with an additional bonus of $25,000 if the job was finished quickly.

Evidence shows that the foreman, William Kaszycki, was instructed by Trump himself to create a new company to handle payments for the demolition job. Kaszycki was in charge of the company; Trump’s name was nowhere on the paperwork.

The undocumented workers then began to put in two shifts a day, starting at their original site, and moving on to the demolition at Trump Tower. Some worked 24 hours a day. They were paid between 4 and 5 dollars per hour, which was less than half of the accepted union wage for similar work.

Although the work site was dangerous, the workers never complained. Not until the payments stopped coming in regularly. As time went on with out a paycheck, more of them got angry. Some approached a local Polish lawyer named John Szabo to ask for help. He threatened to sue Trump, which would have stopped the building project completely.

Trump was not a happy camper. He turned to a labor consultant named Daniel Sullivan for help. Sullivan has testified that when he heard Trump’s story, he said:

“I think you are nuts. You are here negotiating a lease in Atlantic City for a casino license and you are telling me you have got illegal employees on the job.”

Holy crap.

Sullivan told Trump that he needed to fire the Polish workers as soon as possible.

Trump ignored him. He also ignored the need to pay the workers for the demolition. In typical compassionate Trump style, he threatened to turn the men over to Immigration.

The whole nasty mess was investigated by the Labor Department, who eventually ruled that Kaszycki had to pay the undocumented workers $254,523.59.

Donald Trump, that slimy manipulator, never had to pay a single dime.

Never let it be said that Donald Trump is stupid.

Dishonest, cheap, self-absorbed, and cruel, sure. But stupid?

No way.

Featured image by IoSonoUnaFotoCamera via Flickr. Available through Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike Generic License 2.0

 

Karen is a retired elementary school teacher with many years of progressive activism behind her. She is the proud mother of three young adults who were all arrested with Occupy Wall Street. To see what she writes about in her spare time, check out her blog at "Empty Nest, Full Life"