The Talented Mr Manafort

Paul Manafort has been on the political scene for decades. His early work on behalf of the Republican Party can be traced back to President Gerald Ford in 1976. Manafort, so the story goes, found himself in other occupations during at the lean times.

Mr Manafort’s job history below cannot be confirmed. The occupations, like so much about the man, have been the subject of innuendo, rumors, gossip and outright lies.

Review the following with a degree of skepticism. Manafort did them all— or did none of them….we will never know:

1)  Junkyard Operator—owned a scrap metal business in Secaucus, New Jersey, a sprawling 30 acres of rusted out automobiles.

2)  Doo Wop band singer—a part-time job as a high school student in Connecticut brought some success on the supper club circuit. Manafort and his buddies fashioned themselves after Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons and experienced

3)  Wedding Singer—years later the singing experience proved valuable. Manafort got through several lean singing solo at weddings in Columbus, Ohio. He sang under the stage name Robbie Hart. Adam Sandler referenced the name in his film “The Wedding Singer” (1968).

4)  Game show host in Eastern Europe.  Hosted the show “America is Big Country” in the 1980s. The show earned great ratings in many former Iron Curtain countries. Participants were challenged to answer questions about American popular culture.

5) Real Estate Mogul—Paul Manafort’s is rumored to have  developed Drive Through Home Loans in the state of Kentucky. The plan worked like a McDonalds or Starbucks drive-up window, complete with an outdoor microphone. Speedy Home Loan got completed in the time it took a customer to drive from the microphone to the "full-service" window to complete the transaction.

Other rumored occupations—Valet Parker at Beverly Hills restaurant, Stevedore operating a fork-lift in Seattle, Certified Financial Planner in Tuscon, Arizona, Hawaiian lifeguard on Wakiki Beach.