The New York Times has put together a lengthy report about the utterly bizarre circumstances surrounding Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr., former Trump “fixer” Michael Cohen, a former pool boy, and purportedly “compromising photographs.”
The story begins in 2012 when Falwell and his wife enjoyed a stay at the Fontainebleau, a Florida luxury resort known for topless sunbathing and a massive underground nightclub described by one travel guide as “30,000 square feet of unadulterated fun.”
While at the resort, the Falwells struck up a conversation with a 21-year-old man named Giancarlo Granda, who was working as a pool boy at the Fontainebleau. They soon entered into a business relationship with Granda, who at the time was studying finance at Florida International University.
The Falwells subsequently agreed to help Granda purchase an LGBT-friendly youth hostel in Florida that features pamphlets for strip clubs, as well as a sign that reads, “No Soliciting, Fundraising, Politics, Salesmen, Religion.”
According to court records, Falwell said that his family invested a total of $1.8 million, including $800,000 for renovations, to help Granda build up the hostel into a successful business.
Trouble began, however, when Granda’s investment partners claimed that they had been promised an ownership share of the hostel — an offer the Falwells denied ever making.