TL/DR –
Fred Daibes, a corrupt New Jersey businessman who bribed former Sen. Bob Menendez with gold bars, reportedly paid $1 million to a Washington, D.C., lobbyist to seek clemency from President Donald Trump for his seven-year prison sentence. Daibes was convicted for bribing Menendez with hundreds of thousands of dollars and gold bars in exchange for leniency on his separate bank fraud crimes. He later plead guilty in the bank fraud case and was sentenced to three years in prison, which was ordered to run concurrently with his New York bribery sentence.
Convicted New Jersey Businessman Paid $1 Million for Possible Clemency
Fred Daibes, a disgraced businessman from New Jersey, who has previously used gold bars for bribing ex-Senator Bob Menendez, paid a $1 million fee to a Washington lobbyist for seeking a potential clemency from then-President Donald Trump, as informed by three insiders.
Lobbying reports reveal that convicted felon Fred Daibes transferred the funds to Keith Schiller, entailing his firm Javelin Advisors, with an aim to secure “executive relief” from his seven-year prison term.
“‘Executive relief’ implies a pardon or sentence reduction,” clarified NBC News legal analyst Danny Cevallos.
Daibes, found guilty of bribing Senator Menendez with hefty cash and gold bars, began serving his sentence at Federal Correctional Institution Fairton, New Jersey, in May. He had hoped that Menendez would persuade federal prosecutors to be lenient on his bank fraud crimes in New Jersey.
On a later occasion, Daibes pleaded guilty in the bank fraud case and received a three-year sentence that ran concurrently with his New York bribery sentence.
Earlier this year, aiming to expedite a possible pardon or sentence reduction, Daibes hired Schiller’s firm, the sources revealed.
Schiller, former Director of Oval Office operations under Trump, has remained silent on this matter.
While Daibes’ defense lawyer, Cesar de Castro, declined comments, another associated attorney stated, “Fred Daibes hasn’t worked with Keith Schiller or Javelin since June.”
A close associate of Daibes indicated he’s contemplating next steps to garner consideration from the Trump administration.
Trump, last week, commuted the seven-year prison sentence of George Santos, a Republican representative from Long Island, who was also convicted.
When asked about Daibes’ clemency seeking efforts, a White House official responded, “The White House doesn’t comment on pardons. The final decision rests with the President.”
Trump, earlier this year, issued clemency to over 1,500 individuals implicated in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. He also pardoned former Rep. Michael Grimm and ex-Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, both convicted of finance-related and corruption-related charges respectively.
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