Properties in Edgewater, New Jersey, in connection with corruption trial against Daibes and Menendez

EDGEWATER – As the largest undeveloped parcel of land on the Hudson River's Gold Coast, 615 River Road has sparked numerous lawsuits and a state investigation into local officials and was the catalyst for the end of the 20-year friendship between Senator Bob Menendez and Philip Sellinger, the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey.

The 18.7-acre property, once filled with oil tanks and owned by Hess, was indirectly mentioned last month in the Southern District of New York State during testimony in Menendez's federal corruption trial.

Menendez is facing federal bribery and corruption charges along with his wife and three businessmen, one of whom is developer Fred Daibes, who is responsible for most of Edgewater's high-rises and the area's construction boom.

It was Daibes' alleged influence over that property that sparked the lawsuit and put Sellinger in a conflict of interest. Menendez allegedly pressured Sellinger to plead to Daibes' other banking crime charge.

The story of 615 River Road in Edgewater

Hess sold the site in 2014 for $26 million to Maxal Group, a private equity and investment bank, and EnviroFinance Group, a land reuse and redevelopment firm. The two companies formed a development company called 615 River Road Partners LLC and filed the first development application for the property in 2015.

In 2017, after years of plans stalling, 615 River Road Partners, LLC filed suit against the municipality in federal court, claiming officials had barred it from building on its River Road property because of Daibes' influence.

The firm representing 615 River Road Partners was Greenberg Traurig, LLP, where Sellinger was a managing partner for 19 years. Management at 615 River Road declined to comment for this story.

During his testimony in the senator's corruption trial, Sellinger said that Menendez told him when he was considering the position of the new U.S. Attorney for New Jersey in 2020 that Daibes' prosecution was unfair.

“Senator Menendez hoped that if I became U.S. attorney, I would take a close look at this matter,” Sellinger told jurors on June 12.

A day after their first conversation, Sellinger called Menendez to tell him he had discovered he was involved in a 2017 lawsuit against Edgewater County involving Daibes, who testified that he had been told that if he became U.S. attorney, he would have to inform his superiors of the potential conflict of interest.

Sellinger testified that Menendez continued to pressure him and that he received several more calls from him. He also attended meetings where Menendez and his staff raised the Daibes case.

In 2018, Daibes was indicted in federal court on 14 counts of bank fraud, accusing him of evading loans through a bank he founded.

Sellinger testified that Menendez said he would not recommend that President Joe Biden nominate him as New Jersey's next U.S. attorney and instead named Esther Suarez, currently Hudson County prosecutor, as his nominee.

When her nomination to be the district attorney later fell through, he contacted Menendez again and told him he was still interested. On his first day as U.S. attorney, he reviewed the office's top cases and flagged four cases with potential conflicts of interest, including Daibes' case. Sellinger said he was taken off the case a week later.

Sellinger said he met Menendez about 20 years ago while hosting fundraisers and was a guest at the senator's wedding in 2020.

Sellinger told jurors he called Menendez in March 2022 to ask if he would speak at the official ceremony for his appointment.

“He said, 'I'll pass. The only thing worse than not having a relationship with the U.S. attorney is that people think you have a relationship with the U.S. attorney when you don't,'” Sellinger testified.

Sellinger stated in court that he interpreted this to mean that there was no longer any relationship between them.

The story of Edgewater officials, Daibes and an investigation

In 2023, the New Jersey State Commission of Investigation report listed the number of Edgewater officials who had ties to Daibes and that some of those ties included business contracts and, in one case, discounted rent on a luxury apartment, which supported many of the allegations made in the 2017 lawsuit.

“The Commission's investigation found that county officials repeatedly failed in their sworn responsibility to protect public tax dollars and the interests of all residents in order to protect their own personal and financial interests and those of private developer Fred Daibes,” the report said.

After the report was published, Edgewater officials denied any wrongdoing.

Court documents in the lawsuit revealed how closely Daibes was involved in the future of the property. The property was originally considered part of an expropriation plan and housed a public facility, rather than a property that would benefit from tax revenues from a development.

Court documents show that Jeffrey Mathieu, a member of the planning committee, wrote an email to Daibes in 2017 asking for his opinion on the competing project. The opinion was to be presented to the committee.

“I would like to hear your opinion on the Hess motion, which will be before us on September 12,” wrote Mathieu.

Daibes replied: “I am not in favor of the project at all.”

The emails and rent amounts of officials at Daibes' buildings are just some of the documents being presented as evidence in a federal court lawsuit accusing county officials of conspiring with Daibes to drive competitors out of the market.

Agreement reached for 615 River Road

The legal battle between Edgewater and the city over 615 River Road finally ended in 2019 with a settlement that allowed the developer to build up to 1,200 apartments and a commuter ferry, settle the city's affordable housing lawsuits, and donate land to Edgewater for a new school.

Last year, the title to the 8 hectares of donated land was officially transferred to the municipality. It is earmarked for the construction of a new school and the authorities plan to hold a referendum on the school's funding in due course.

After the property owners settled their legal dispute with the municipality, a handful of additional lawsuits emerged, preventing work from starting.

Several lawsuits have been filed alleging that the municipality was coerced into settling to prevent disclosure of its conflicts of interest with Daibes.

A lawsuit filed by Windsor Cove Associates LLC also points to conflicts of interest. It states that the mayor and city council were “eager” to reach a settlement “so that there would never be a trial in which evidence of such conflicts would come to light.”

Windsor Cove Associates owns two properties in Edgewater. According to tax records, the properties are also owned by J. Demetrakis. Windsor Cove Associates' mailing address is the same as that of attorney David Carmel, who filed the suit in state Supreme Court in Bergen County. Both have an address at 1 Bridge Plaza, Suite 519, in Fort Lee.

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Properties in Edgewater, New Jersey, in connection with corruption trial against Daibes and Menendez

Anna Harden

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