A mob-linked friend of President-elect Donald Trump apparently obtained a handful of Trump-related domain names in Asia, BuzzFeed News reports. Joseph "No Socks" Cinque is the chairman of the American Association of Hospitality Sciences, but in 1989 he was convicted of a felony over stolen art found in his apartment — and according to a 1995 profile in New York, was a friend of Gambino crime family boss John Gotti.
Cinque most recently was in the news for his appearance at the president-elect's New Year's Eve party, where video of the event shows him "next to Trump fist-pumping as [Trump] pledges to cut taxes and dismantle ObamaCare," BuzzFeed News writes. Trump has denied knowing about Cinque's shady past — or, in Trump's words: "If a guy's going to give you an award, you take it. You don't tend to look up his whole life story."
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It's unclear why the domains were purchased by AAHS. A lawyer for the association, the Trump Organization, and the presidential transition team did not respond to BuzzFeed News' request for comment.
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