Paolo Zampolli, the man who has long been credited as introducing then-New York City nightlife fixture Donald Trump to future first lady Melania, routinely touts his connections to the president on social media.
So when the former modeling agent-turned-government official learned his Brazilian ex-girlfriend had been arrested in Miami last year, he allegedly called a top official at Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ensure she would be placed in federal custody.
According to The New York Times, Zampolli reached out to David Venturella, a former veteran of private prison firm Geo Group who is now a high-ranking ICE official overseeing immigration detention centers, as well as Corey Lewandowski, a close Trump ally working as a top adviser to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Zampolli, who was reportedly engaged in a legal battle with Amanda Ungaro over the custody of their teenage son, has denied asking ICE to detain her or for any other favors from the administration. A spokesperson for Homeland Security said “any suggestion that she was arrested and removed for political reasons or favors is FALSE.”
It remains unclear whether his efforts worked, though Zampolli’s ex was moved into ICE custody and deported shortly after his alleged call to Venturella, according to The Times.
But the alleged account — citing records and people familiar with the request — appears to show how Trump’s well-connected allies can try to use his administration for score-settling and political favors.
The Independent has requested comment from the White House.
A spokesperson for Melania Trump told The Independent she “has no knowledge of, nor involvement in, the personal affairs of Mr. Zampoli and Ms. Ungaro.”
“Furthermore, Mrs. Trump has had no contact or engagement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” the spokesperson said.
Zampolli and Trump have both shared the story about the president’s introduction to Melania at a Manhattan nightclub 1998, when she was a model recruited by Zampolli from her home country Slovenia. He sponsored her immigration though an H-1B visa at the time.
His connections to New York’s modeling scene have also put him in close connection with Jeffrey Epstein, and Zampolli’s name appears several times in the massive tranche of documents released by the Department of Justice in connection with criminal investigations into the late sex offender.
“Be careful, Zampoli is trouble. Lots,” Epstein wrote in a 2011 email, according to the files. “He sells stories to the press.”
In an interview with The Times, Zampolli denied having a significant relationship with Epstein, noting that his name appears far fewer times than other high-profile figures whose names have been scrutinized in the aftermath of the Epstein files’ release.
“At least I was included, because if you’re not on the list, you’re a loser, right?” he told the newspaper.
Zampolli, a longtime friend of the president, has been rewarded with political appointments in both his administrations.
Last year, Trump appointed Zampolli as a “United States Special Representative for Global Partnerships,” and Zampolli was named to the Kennedy Center’s Board of Trustees in 2020.
In his latest role, Zampolli has defended Russia’s reentry into global sports competitions, and he brought a miniature version of Arturo Di Modica’s Wall Street Charging Bull sculpture to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January.
The White House similarly came under scrutiny last year following the arrest of Bruna Ferreira, the mother of press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew.
That incident, which placed the family of a key official in the Trump administration within the president’s mass deportation efforts, also raised questions about whether people with close connections to the White House turned to ICE to get involved with a family matter.
Ferreira, who has also been engaged in a custody battle with her son’s father, was arrested in November and remained in ICE detention for nearly a month.
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