Dissed at the Debate: Architect for Trump's Briarcliff Golf Club Speaks Out

BRIARCLIFF MANOR, NY — The presidential debate at Hofstra University has brought the clubhouse at Trump National Westchester into the national spotlight.

Architect Andrew Tesoro says he wasn't paid fully for his design project for the clubhouse in Briarcliff Manor. As Tesoro described it to MSNBC (see video below), the job snowballed, including interior design; there were supplemental agreements — which were not honored, he said.

Tesoro had been featured in a video released by Hillary for America. In it, Tesoro describes almost going under after being bullied into cutting the bill he had already sent by two-thirds, and then being told by Trump himself that he wouldn't even pay that. The amount in dispute: $100,000 — which, as Tesoro says, was money already spent by the firm over the four-year project.

To handle the loss, Tesoro said, he maxed out his line of credit and used money saved to send his kid to college.

"His definition of winning is making sure the other guy loses, and that way of doing business is just not very fair to the little guy," Tesoro said. "You can't run a country the way Mr. Trump has run his business."

At the debate, Hillary Clinton brought up numerous small business people, including Tesoro, who had been stiffed by Trump and his organization.

Trump's response: “Maybe he didn’t do a good job, and I wasn’t satisfied with his work.”

Afterward, in an interview on MSNBC, Tesoro read from a 2006 letter from Trump about how much he liked the clubhouse, with lines like: "He did a great job for me."

Among the other things Trump said in the letter was "The clubhouse has a magnificent stone and glass exterior. It has magnificent porches and balconies...Mr. Tesoro is a fine architect with imagination and spirit...Andrew Tesoro is a dedicated, enthusiastic and solid professional."

Trump and his lawyers have also been fighting with the village of Briarcliff Manor over money.

Trump listed the value of the 147-acre private club as being in excess of $50 million on a candidate disclosure form, according to ABC News. His lawyers, however, are arguing in a property tax grievance that it's only worth $9 million.

In 2011, the village sent the club a bill for more than $200,000 after a problem on the course sent water, mud and rocks downhill across Pleasantville Road and into Law Memorial Park. The lawyers are fighting about that too.

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IMAGE: clubhouse/ via YouTube/Donald Trump's Victims: Andrew Tesoro| The Briefing