FBI agent testifies on Manafort's 'closets full' of suits
On Tuesday, the first day of Paul Manafort’s trial, prosecutors revealed the defendant owned a $15,000 suit made from ostrich. On Wednesday, just before the court broke for lunch, FBI agent Matthew Mikuska testified that Manafort had “closets full” of suits, and prosecutors presented invoices for bespoke suits totaling $66,000.
Judge T.S. Ellis didn’t permit photos of the suits to be entered into evidence, and struggled to pronounce the name of Manafort’s high-end tailors. “If it doesn’t say Men’s Wearhouse,” said Ellis, “I don’t buy it.”
The prosecution presented two invoices for custom suits from Alan Couture nearing $66,000, as well as invoices for $160,000 in silk rugs. The judge read aloud a stipulation stating that offshore funds were wired to the Virginia rug vendor to pay for them.