What's next for Fred Daibes after not guilty plea in alleged Menendez bribery scheme?

Prominent New Jersey developer Fred Daibes went before a judge Wednesday and entered a not guilty plea for the second time in five years.

Daibes, 66, was one of five people indicted Friday in an alleged corruption scheme involving Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez. He pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were brought by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, in federal court in Manhattan.

Daibes was charged along with two other businessmen, Wael Hana and Jose Uribe, with conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit honest services fraud in relation to Menendez's second indictment in eight years.

Menendez was indicted on corruption charges for allegedly accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from Daibes, Hana and Uribe for helping them enrich themselves and trying to get them out of trouble, said the indictment, unsealed in New York.

Menendez entered his own plea of not guilty late Wednesday morning in a federal courtroom in Manhattan. He and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, arrived at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse shortly after 8 a.m.

Daibes was released on a $2 million personal recognizance bond secured by his property at 500 Route 340 in Sparkill, New York, and is restricted to New Jersey and parts of Florida and New York. His $10 million recognizance bond in his 2018 New Jersey case will transfer to the New York case if he is exonerated.

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Menendez was released on a $100,000 personal recognizance bond and was required to surrender his personal passport, though not his official government passport. He can travel abroad with permission from the court.

Nadine Arslanian Menendez, who also pleaded not guilty, was released on a $250,000 personal recognizance bond secured by her house in Englewood Cliffs. She can travel only in New Jersey, parts of New York, Florida and Washington, D.C.

Uribe pleaded not guilty and was released on a $1 million personal recognizance bond secured by his residence in Clifton and is restricted to New Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania and New York.

Daibes charged in 2018 with federal banking crimes

Daibes is largely responsible for the "gold coast" boom of high-rises along the Hudson River in Bergen County and owns several properties.

He founded Mariner's Bank, opening the first branch on River Road in Edgewater in 2001. He served as chairman of both Mariner's Bank and Mariner's Bancorp. He remained the chairman of Mariner's Bancorp until 2019, after he was indicted. He also was chairman of the bank's board until April 2011.

In 2018, a federal indictment described a scheme in which Daibes and Michael McManus, the chief financial officer of Daibes Enterprises, allegedly used others not named in the indictment to secure millions of dollars in loans — which were used for Daibes' benefit — without the knowledge of Mariner's Bank or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

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There were five so-called "nominees," friends or relatives of Daibes, who obtained loans from Mariner's Bank using collateral provided by Daibes, or who obtained loans with the idea that Daibes would provide money for the loan payments, the indictment said.

The loans took place from 2008 to 2013 and allegedly were used to get around the lending limits set by Mariner's Bank.

Daibes and McManus were each charged with one count of conspiracy to misapply bank funds and to make false entries to deceive a bank and the FDIC.

Additionally, Daibes was charged with five counts of misapplying bank funds, six counts of making false entries to deceive a financial institution and the FDIC, and one count of causing reliance on a false document to influence the FDIC.

Bail

Daibes originally pleaded not guilty in 2018 before later pleading guilty to one count of the charges in 2022.

His bail was set at $10 million, and he was allowed to post a bond in that amount by using his property, court documents show.

The properties are listed as "1255-1275 River Road." The properties include two commercial developments and 2½ acres of vacant land at 1275 River Road. A lien was place on the properties. Daibes will not lose title to whatever property he posts, and businesses will be allowed to continue as usual there as long as he complies with court proceedings.

In 2022, Daibes admitted to receiving more than $1 million in gross receipts from Mariner's Bank, pleading guilty to making false entries in a loan memorandum. Daibes' guilty plea was to a single count of the original indictment, which charges that the 2008 memo for a $1.8 million nominee loan falsely stated the borrower and the source of repayment when the line of credit was actually for Daibes, who funded the repayment.

Lawrence Lustberg, attorney for Daibes, said at the time that he will be sentenced to probation and the rest of the charges against him are being dismissed. Lustberg called the plea agreement "favorable." According to the agreement, the charge to which Daibes pleaded carries a maximum penalty of 30 years and a fine of at least $1 million.

However, the sentencing for probation was delayed four times, with many speculating that it was connected to the Menendez investigation.

Daibes' next sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 26.

Travel over the years

Daibes' travels were limited as part of his new federal bail agreement.

Since 2018, Daibes has been allowed to travel outside the country seven times, taking trips to destinations including Italy, the Bahamas, England and Qatar.

In 2022, he traveled abroad to conduct business for his property at 115 River Road in Edgewater, a contaminated Superfund site. Daibes traveled to London four times, in January and August and twice in October of 2022, court records show.

In a letter, his attorney asked the judge to allow Daibes — awaiting sentencing in the bank charge case — to visit Qatar to pitch another investor, Heritage Advisors of London, an investment management firm founded by Sheikh Sultan bin Jassim Al Thani of Qatar. The investment firm subsequently bought a 23.7% share of the Quanta site and adjoining properties for $45 million, records show. Heritage did not respond to a request for comment.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Fred Daibes: What's next after plea in Sen. Bob Menedez indictment