'Similarities are striking': Analyst links Trump's woes to infamous New York mobster

Former President Donald Trump is headed for a legal reckoning like he has never seen before in 2024 as he mounts another bid for the White House, with multiple criminal trials all over the country.

Indeed, wrote analyst Harlan Ullman for United Press International on Wednesday, Trump is in a similar situation to that of an infamous New York mobster.

"The New Yorker of Trump's generation who combined celebrity status with an avalanche of trials was another Don — the Teflon Don and crime boss John Gotti," he wrote.

"Some readers will find the comparisons offensive. But the similarities are striking. If convicted of attempting to subvert an election, as well as failing to safeguard the nation's secrets, are these charges any less serious than those leveled against Gotti?"

"Former FBI Director James Comey wrote in his autobiography that Trump operated in ways reminiscent of the mob. Loyalty was paramount. And Trump often operated according to his own rules, often of doubtful legality."

Gotti was an infamous figure in the '80s, as he stood trial for ordering a hit on a fellow crime boss but beat the rap thanks to bribery and witness tampering. He was nicknamed the Teflon Don because the feds had difficulty making anything stick to him.

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But ultimately his crimes caught up with him in 1990, after wiretaps in his headquarters at the Ravenite Club caught him freely admitting to wrongdoings, which was used to put him in prison for life.

Trump is not accused of murder, as Gotti was. His alleged crimes range from business fraud, to the deprivation of civil rights, to election racketeering, to the illegal retention of highly classified national defense information at his Mar-a-Lago country club.

For years now, Ullman noted, Trump has been "Teflon-like" in his ability to wriggle out of legal trouble, despite defying the authorities and even court officials at every turn — much like Gotti was. And similarly, he wrote, "If convicted in the classified material trial, Trump will have admitted his own guilt."

"The next year will determine whether Trump is a Teflon or a Velcro Don," concluded Ullman.