Sunday, 24 Nov 2024

N.Y. Today: The Inquiry Into Trump’s Insurance Broker

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It’s Wednesday. There are daffodils in city parks.

Weather: Get the scarf and hold on to your hat. Strong winds may make it feel like it’s in the single digits. There’s a chance of snow this evening.

Alternate-side parking: Suspended today for Ash Wednesday.

When Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez questioned President Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, on Mr. Trump’s finances last week, we told you that the answers “laid a bread crumb trail for future investigations.”

Now someone has started picking up those crumbs.

New York State regulators yesterday issued a sweeping demand for information from the Trump Organization’s longtime insurance broker.

Here are the latest developments.

Who is asking questions?

The state Department of Financial Services, which is part of Governor Cuomo’s administration. It regulates the insurance industry, as well as banking and other financial institutions.

Who is being looked at?

The Trump Organization’s insurance broker, Aon. It’s one of the largest insurance brokerage firms in the world.

What are regulators doing?

The Department of Financial Services sent a subpoena to Aon, demanding a range of materials about Aon’s business with Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization dating to 2009.

[The subpoena was the first step in an investigation of insurance policies and claims involving Mr. Trump’s family business.]

The regulators are also looking at compensation for the current and former Aon employees who handled the Trump Organization account, including their incentives, bonus payments or commissions.

The subpoena contains no indication that the company or its employees engaged in misconduct, according to a person briefed on the matter, nor does it specify any possible wrongdoing that is the focus of the inquiry.

Why are regulators looking at the Trump Organization’s insurance broker?

At a hearing in front of the House Oversight Committee on Feb. 27, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez asked Mr. Cohen whether the president ever inflated his assets to an insurance company. Mr. Cohen simply replied, “Yes.”

The Trump Organization falls outside the Department of Financial Service’s purview, but Aon does not.

Have questions about Mr. Trump’s finances been raised before?

Yes. My colleagues found evidence that he underreported the value of his New York assets to lower his tax liabilities.

And Representative Jerrold Nadler of Manhattan is seeking information about people and businesses connected to the president.

What can regulators do if they find something improper?

The Department of Financial Services does not conduct criminal investigations, but it can refer any possible illegal activity to prosecutors. It can also issue fines against the companies and individuals it regulates.

Has something like this happened before?

In 2017, the department scrutinized the Trump Organization’s relationship with Deutsche Bank. The examination concluded without the agency taking any action against the bank.

From The Times

• Birthing attendant: Elizabeth Catlin, who has helped deliver hundreds of Mennonite children, is facing felony charges.

• Transit: Council Speaker Corey Johnson said the city should control the subways.

• Voting: The state’s Democratic Party passed a resolution to end fusion voting.

• Weinstein lawyer: Ronald S. Sullivan Jr., a faculty dean at Harvard who recently began defending the film producer Harvey Weinstein, is facing criticism from students.

[Want more news from New York and around the region? Check out our full coverage.]

The mini crossword: Here is today’s puzzle.

What we’re reading

“Storefront dinner party”: There is a lot you can do with vacant storefronts in New York City. [Wall Street Journal]

• AOC’s family: Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s mother said she moved to Florida from New York, in part, to pay lower property taxes. [New York Post]

• School: A pre-K program on the Upper West Side abruptly shut down. [CBS]

• Law and order: The police will now publicize the schedule of police officer disciplinary hearings. [NY1]

Coming up today

A conversation with Serge and Beate Klarsfeld about their dedication to tracking down Nazis and bringing them to justice at Columbia University’s Maison Française. 6 p.m. [Free]

Learn how to tango at Chelsea Recreation Center. 7 p.m. [Free]

Hot Mess, a drag competition at House of Yes in Bushwick. 10 p.m. [Free]

— Iman Stevenson

Events are subject to change, so double-check before heading out. For more events, see the going-out guides from The Times’s culture pages.

And finally: The art of the clapback

Man texts woman.

Woman says thanks, but no thanks.

Man insults woman.

Woman blocks man’s number.

Man texts woman from a new number.

Woman blocks man’s new number.

Man texts woman from another new number.

Woman blocks man’s other new number.

Then the woman sends the exchange to Samantha Rothenberg, a Brooklyn-based illustrator who since late last year has been collecting stories like this on her popular Instagram account, called Violet Clair. (A quick warning: There may be some not-safe-for-work illustrations on the page.)

“Some of the wackiest behaviors I’ve seen have definitely come from New Yorkers,” Ms. Rothenberg said. “If you don’t like someone, there’s this thought in New York that you’re never going to see them again.”

Ms. Rothenberg is making sure their bad behavior is seen again and again. She has more than 70,000 Instagram followers.

“Men might behave in a way that is truly horrible and say some horrible things via text without realizing this can be documented, and shared,” she said.

And there is so much to discuss.

Here’s how it works:

Women take screenshots of messages they have traded with men and send them to Ms. Rothenberg. She picks one each week to feature, and talks to the sender and gets the back story.

Ms. Rothenberg then creates an episode via Instagram stories.

No real names are used: All the women are called Jane, and all the men are John. No identifying details are revealed. At the end of each episode, Ms. Rothenberg adds an illustration representing the most poignant or funniest part of the exchange.

The result is a mix of inspiration and entertainment.

“By posting examples from strong women, other women feel empowered,” she said.

One piece of advice for daters in New York: “The way a person texts can tell you a lot about them,” Ms. Rothenberg said. “I think the way that you text is a huge extension of who you are.”

It’s Wednesday — share your story.

Metropolitan Diary: Parking shuffle

Dear Diary:

Most Tuesdays, I pull into a spot on Riverside Drive at the corner of 116th Street just before noon. I sit there for a half-hour reading until alternate-side is finished, securing a space that lets me see my car from the vestibule of my apartment when I get upstairs.

On a recent Tuesday, I wasn’t able to pull onto the block until 12:15. There were no empty spaces left when I got there. I drove laps around the neighborhood until I found a spot 10 blocks away.

Later in the day, I was looking out the window and I saw an empty spot. By the time I got my sneakers on, it was gone. Taking a chance, I walked the 10 blocks to my car anyway. After doing more laps, I eventually found a spot on Riverside two blocks from my window.

Crossing the street toward home, a spot ahead of me opened up. It was not only in view of my apartment but would also allow me not to move my car for an extra day.

A couple in a car nearby saw me turn back. They rolled down their window.

“You want that spot?” they said, pointing toward the space I had my sights on.

“Yes,” I said. “Do you?”

They shook their heads.

“Hurry, hurry,” they said before driving away.

I pulled out quickly, but when I got to the space, another car had already pulled in. Despondent, I started to pull away.

The driver of the car that had pulled into the spot rolled down the window and waved. It was the same couple.

“Hurry,” they said before driving away.

— Georgette Culucundis Mallory

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