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."
The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences has recognized Trump properties several times. But BuzzFeed News' investigation reveals the firm has also possessed Trump-related domain names in Asia since at least 2008, with the Trump Organization's general counsel named as the email contact. The AAHS registered domains like donaldtrump.asia, ivankatrump.asia, thedonald.asia, and trumptowerbeijing.com, along with many others. The domains registered by AAHS do not direct to any websites.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
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.
-
4 ways to cover unexpected home repairsThe Explainer Home is where the heart is — but it might cost you
-
Why is Trump attacking Intel's CEO?Today's Big Question Concerns about Lip-Bu Tan's Chinese connections
-
One great cookbook: 'Salt to Taste'The Week Recommends Your roadmap to satisfying Italian home cooking
-
US to take 15% cut of AI chip sales to ChinaSpeed Read Nvidia and AMD will pay the Trump administration 15% of their revenue from selling artificial intelligence chips to China
-
NFL gets ESPN stake in deal with DisneySpeed Read The deal gives the NFL a 10% stake in Disney's ESPN sports empire and gives ESPN ownership of NFL Network
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B dealSpeed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance mergerSpeed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profitsSpeed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new highSpeed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliablespeed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutinySpeed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
