Trump Commerce pick found profits, controversy in Rust Belt
A specialist in bankruptcies, Ross headed the restructuring practice at investment banking firm Rothschild Inc. when Trump's bad bets in the Atlantic City casino industry had put him on the verge of losing everything.
Ross convinced creditors to drop a plan to strip Trump's name and ownership from the Taj Casino, a victory that set the stage for Trump's eventual resurrection.
[...] his time in the coal industry included a disaster that cost 12 lives at the Sago Mine in West Virginia, and the mortgage servicing business drew complaints about business practices that ended in a national legal settlement.
The essence of the work was to buy failing companies, repair them to make them presentable to investors and then exit the investment through a sale or public offering; Ross' venture into coal mining followed the same pattern and achieved similar financial success.
After the disaster, the AFL-CIO accused International Coal Group of hiding the safety risks of its mining operations ahead of the initial public stock offering.