William “Big Billy” Delia’s recently released biography tells the untold story of his life behind organized crime scenes.
“The Life We Chose” sheds light on this influential Pennsylvania-based Mafia leader and his secrets, with Claims that the influential mob figure had business dealings with Trump in the 1980s.
The recently published biography claims that D’Elia conducted business with former President Donald Trump when Trump owned several Atlantic City casinos. D’Elia alleges that by tossing a coin, Trump once reduced the cost of a real estate deal by $1 million.
Law enforcement officials have suggested D’Elia, better known as “Big Billy,” ran the Pennsylvania-based Buffalino Crime Family for decades.
D’Elia honed his skill alongside the mob family’s namesake, Russel Buffalino, described by Robert F. Kennedy as one of the most “powerful” and “ruthless” U.S. mafia leaders.
After Buffalino died in 1994, D’Elia became the leader of the family. He had gained such trust and respect from various mob families across the country that he was requested to take over the Philadelphia crime family in the 1990s to put an end to the violent feuds that plagued the city. However, he declined the offer.
According to D’Elia, he had business dealings with Trump during his ownership of several extravagant casinos on the New Jersey shore, namely the “Trump Taj Mahal,” “The Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino,” and “The Trump Marina Hotel and Casino.” D’Elia describes Trump as being just as arrogant as he appears on TV and someone who doesn’t keep his promises.
According to veteran journalist Matt Birkbeck who wrote “The Life We Chose, William ‘Big Billy’ D’Elia and the Last Secrets of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Family,” Trump preferred to handle his own deals without the involvement of lawyers or anyone else, even if it meant working with questionable individuals.
During a negotiation involving the sale of time-shares in Trump-owned properties, Birkbeck stated that the then-future president pressured Billy to purchase $100,000 in copies of his book, “The Art of The Deal,” as part of the deal.
D’Elia also revealed Trump had agreed to purchase a property related to his casino, “Trump Plaza,” but later reneged on the deal. Eventually, the group resolved the disagreement by flipping a coin, and Trump paid $1 million.
Barry Shapiro confirmed that Trump had flipped a coin to determine a property’s sales price in Atlantic City. Shapiro, who is 85 years old, recounted that he and his group, which included his late brother Ken, sold the property to Trump for $1 million less than the agreed-upon price, with the coin toss being the deciding factor.
According to Shapiro, the sale price was $8 million, but Trump paid $7 million after the coin flip.
