Paolo Zampolli, a former modeling agent
MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas
Trump Friend Asked ICE to Detain the Mother of His Child
Last June, the man credited with introducing President Trump to his wife asked the administration for a favor.
Paolo Zampolli, a former modeling agent turned presidential special envoy, had learned that his Brazilian ex-girlfriend was in a Miami jail, arrested on charges of fraud at her workplace. They had been in a custody battle over their teenage son. Now he saw an opportunity.
He reached out to a top official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, explaining that his ex was in the country illegally, according to records obtained by The New York Times and a person familiar with the communications. Could she be put in ICE detention? That could help him get his son back.
The official, David Venturella, promptly called the agency’s Miami office to ensure that ICE agents would pick up the woman from the jail before she was released on bail, according to the records and a person with knowledge of the conversation who requested anonymity to discuss it. During the call, Mr. Venturella noted that the case was important to someone close to the White House.
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Paolo Zampolli (born March 5, 1970) is an Italian-American businessman. After immigrating to the United States and founding a modeling agency, Zampolli became a close friend of Donald Trump, introducing him to his future wife, Melania Knauss, in 1998. After moving out of modeling, Zampolli founded a real estate firm and held roles representing Dominica at the UN. In 2020, Trump named Zampolli to the Kennedy Center's Board of Trustees. In the second Trump administration, Zampolli was named special envoy for global partnerships, in which capacity he has represented the United States in varied settings.
Paolo Zampolli - Wikipedia
Mr. Zampolli, 56, is known in Washington for flaunting his proximity to the Trumps. In this case, he used his clout to solicit help from an agency beset by allegations of unlawful overreach.
In an interview with The Times, Mr. Zampolli denied asking ICE to detain Ms. Ungaro or seeking any other favors. He said he merely asked Mr. Venturella to explain what was going on with her case.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, said in a statement that Ms. Ungaro was detained and deported because she was on a long-expired visa and had been charged with fraud. “Any suggestion that she was arrested and removed for political reasons or favors is FALSE,” the statement said.
As the president’s special representative for global partnerships, Mr. Zampolli is a minor character in Mr. Trump’s Washington. But the role keeps him within photo-op range of the Trump family, cabinet secretaries and other prominent figures in and around the administration.
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