The shadowy private intelligence/security consultant wanted for questioning by the Senate Intelligence Committee in their Russia probe, Walter Soriano, once claimed to have worked for Donald Trump’s friend and former RNC finance chairman Steve Wynn.

American billionaire Ruth Parasol, who hired the consultant Walter Soriano in the late 2000s to navigate a DoJ investigation into her company, swore under oath in 2012 that Soriano told her that he had a “close relationship” with Wynn.

As previously reported by Forensic News, Parasol paid Soriano over $30,000,000 from 2009 until 2011 for multiple tasks. Soriano was hired to “resolving the DoJ issue”, “assisting Ms. Parasol… in relation to the PartyGaming business” and “investigating PartyGaming’s competitors.” PartyGaming was Parasol’s online gambling company.

Read the full declaration by Ruth Parasol in Israeli court in 2012:

Forensic News could not independently verify that Wynn had a close relationship with Walter Soriano. Lawyers for Soriano and representatives for Wynn Resorts did not respond to requests for comment. Parasol directed Forensic News to her lawyer (allegedly hand-picked by Soriano as claimed in the above lawsuit) who declined to comment.

An archived version of Soriano’s USG Security’s website shows that the company offered hotel security protection.

“Hotel Security Designed for the prevention, and implementation of: – Violent Attacks – including Terrorism

– Public Order Disturbances

– Theft or Loss of Hotel Property

– Theft or Loss of Guests’ Possessions

– Minimal disruption to day-to-day running of the hotel

– Improvement & transparency to customer service

– Comprehensive risk assessment and security survey

– On-site Training for Security Officiers & Staff

– Security engineering during hotel construction or renovation to integrate security means into the structure

– Internal investigations into theft, fraud etc.

– Ongoing support, including consulting according to need, drills and surprise inspection of hotel security staff”

Before becoming close friends in the late 2000s, Trump and Wynn were fierce corporate competitors. In fact, in lawsuits in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Trump accused Wynn of using a private investigator to dig up dirt on Trump and the Trump Organization. The investigator, Louis Rodriguez, was working for Trump, and allegedly turned double agent.

[R]epresentatives of Wynn and Trump engaged in a nasty behind-the-scenes battle that generated allegations of fraud, money-laundering, perjury, conspiracy, and the theft of trade secrets.

The two real estate and casino magnates traded accusations of using spies, blackmail, and surreptitious recordings in order to gain dirt on each other. The two settled outside of court in 2000, and by 2011, Trump attended Wynn’s wedding.

Wynn, who had previously donated to Democrats and Republicans, rose to political prominence in 2016 when he heaped praise upon Trump. After the election, Wynn was handpicked to be a Vice Chair of the Trump inauguration and later tapped by Trump personally to become the Republican National Committee finance chairman. A year later, Wynn resigned from the post after numerous women came forward sharing experiences of Wynn’s sexual assault.

The connection between Steve Wynn and Walter Soriano is sure to pique the interest of investigators in the Senate Intelligence Committee and federal investigators.

The Senate suspects that Soriano may have knowledge of Russian election interference in 2016, due in part to his longstanding business and personal relationship with Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

This article will be updated as more information is learned.

Forensic News is funded entirely by our readers. We don’t hide content behind paywalls or take money from corporate entities. Consider pledging your support so we can continue producing impactful investigative journalism.

Tags

Related Posts