Informant's Web pitch silent on criminal past: Details emerge from shadows of Trump's life.

(From McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Saint Paul Pioneer Press - Minnesota)

Byline: David Hanners

MINNEAPOLIS -- The headline was a grabber, but then grabbing people was what it was all about.

"281 Pound Body Builder Spills His Gut And Reveals All He Knows About How To Write Killer Internet Web Site Sales Copy," blared the headline on a Web site devoted to helping people mine the World Wide Web for money.

What followed was a lengthy interview with one of the new gurus of online marketing and sales, a Minneapolis man whose name even sounded prosperous: Taylor Winthorpe Trump. He told the interviewer a rags-to-riches story about how he discovered ways to make money off the Internet.

He didn't tell all, though. Chief among the things he left out: He had served time in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. At one time, according to federal agents, he was part of Minnesota's biggest crack ring.

His Web sites may be long dormant, but the self-styled online marketing whiz is now making his presence felt elsewhere, particularly federal court. He promises to be a key figure in the government's corruption case against Minneapolis policeman Michael David Roberts.

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