A landscaper in the Hamptons described how Paul Manafort — and Manafort alone — commissioned him to care for hundreds of flowers at his house, as well as "one of the biggest ponds in the Hamptons."
Michael Regolizio of New Leaf Maintenance said Manafort paid for much of the work through international wire transfer, and was his only client to do so.
Regolizio testified that Manafort spent about $450,000 on landscaping over five years.
The landscapers initially only handled tree-care for Manafort's Bridgehampton estate. But in 2012, they took over Manafort's entire Bridgehampton home's outdoor work.
This included:
- Sending landscapers there four to five times a week to prune 14-foot hedges
- Mowing the lawn and fertilizing
- Planting "hundreds and hundreds of flowers"
- Pruining a flower bed next to the tennis courts
- Maintaining the large pond with a waterfall feature, and care for a white and red flower bed in the shape of an "M."
Regolizio said Manafort would personally call his landscape company's offices before one of the wire transfers came through, to give them a heads up.
They knew the wired money coming from corporate payers came from Manafort because the only other other client Regolizio had who paid in that way made transfers from domestic banks and used his own name, the landscaper said.
Regolizio started working for Manafort after the construction contractor Stephen Jacobson connected them. Jacobson testified on Wednesday about millions of dollars of home renovations he did for the Manaforts, and how those were paid for by wire transfer.