He lived in that vipers den his whole life. I doubt there’s been a building of prominence that was built in NYC in the last 200 years that didn’t have to go through the political meat grinder of extortion and kickbacks, err... I mean donations. Everyone has to play the game, but at his level you become a target for blackmail, entrapment, etc. The powers that be will use any tool imaginable to try to get people of provenance under their control.