During the Atlantic City casino boom in the 1980s, Philadelphia cabinet-builder Edward Friel Jr. landed a $400,000 contract to build the bases for slot machines, registration desks, bars and other cabinets at Harrah's at Trump Plaza. The family cabinetry business, founded in the 1940s by Edward's father, finished its work in 1984 and submitted its final bill to the general contractor for the Trump Organization, the resort's builder. Edward's son, Paul, who was the firm's accountant, still remembers the amount of that bill more than 30 years later: $83,600. The reason? The money never came. 'That began the demise of the Edward J. Friel Company...which has been around since my grandfather,' he said. Donald Trump often portrays himself as a savior of the working class who will 'protect your job.' But a USA TODAY NETWORK analysis found he has been involved in more than 3,500 lawsuits over the past three decades — and a large number of those involve ordinary Americans, like the Friels, who say Trump or his companies have refused to pay them. At least 60 lawsuits, along with hundreds of liens, judgments and other government filings reviewed by USA TODAY NETWORK, document people who have accused Trump and his businesses of failing to pay them for their work. Among them: a dishwasher in Florida. A glass company in New Jersey. Painters. Waiters and other hourly workers at his resorts and clubs. Real estate brokers. And, ironically, several law firms that once represented him in these suits and others. Trump's companies also have been cited for 24 violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act since 2005 for failing to pay overtime or minimum wage, according to U.S. Department of Labor data. Those cases were resolved by the companies agreeing to pay back wages. All of this is very well known but when you're in a state of denial the only thing that helps is a significant amount of counseling or psychiatric help. https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/elections/2016/06/09/donald-trumps-trail-of-unpaid-bills/85685206/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=false&gca-epti=z1157xxu001853e1157xxv001453&gca-ft=217&gca-ds=sophi