Former modeling agent and longtime ally to President Donald Trump, Paolo Zampolli asked a top ICE official for help “to settle a personal score” and have the mother of his child deported during a custody battle, according to The New York Times.
Zampolli, a now presidential special envoy, introduced Trump to the president’s now wife Melania.
He found out that his Brazilian ex-girlfriend, Amanda Ungaro, had arrested on charges of fraud at her work and in custody at a Miami jail — and last year talked to a top official at ICE, David Venturella, to see if she could be placed in ICE detention, citing that she was in the country illegally, The Times reported.
The two had been going through a custody battle over their teenage son and “now he saw an opportunity” to try and get him back, Friday’s report stated.
A source familiar with Zampolli’s communications and records acquired by The Times revealed that Ungaro was picked up from a Miami jail by ICE agents before she could make bail and later deported. Although this could have happened without her ex-boyfriend’s involvement, it raises questions about how members of the Trump administration have used the federal government during Trump’s second term to pursue personal vendettas.
Zampolli denied to The Times that he sought special favors or that he had requested federal officials take Ungaro into custody.
The Department of Homeland Security told The Times that Ungaro was detained and deported over an expired visa after being charged with fraud.
“Any suggestion that she was arrested and removed for political reasons or favors is FALSE,” the DHS statement said.
Zampolli has often bragged about his loyalty to the Trumps, and has known the president for more than 30 years. He even recruited Melania, a former model, from Slovenia. Zampolli also had ties to the late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“In the city’s modeling scene, Mr. Zampolli also intersected with Jeffrey Epstein, the financier who would later be accused of sexually abusing hundreds of girls and young women,” according to The Times. “The men once discussed buying a modeling agency together, and Mr. Zampolli’s name appears several times in the millions of Epstein documents recently released by the Justice Department.
“In one 2011 email, Mr. Epstein warned an Emirati businessman: ‘Be careful, zampoli is trouble. Lots.’ He added, ‘He sells stories to the press.’”
Zampolli has denied having a close friendship with Epstein. He added that his name was not included as frequently as other people, such as professors, celebrities or monarchs.
“At least I was included, because if you’re not on the list, you’re a loser, right?” Zampolli told The Times.
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