Mafia tied to criminal investigation into US senator: report

A real estate tycoon caught up in the probe of Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) has ties to organized crime, reported The Daily Beast on Wednesday.

"The Daily Beast was the first to report Fred Daibes’ entanglement in the latest federal investigation into Menendez, after one of the waterfront developer’s attorneys disclosed in December that his client had retained separate counsel to deal with the Department of Justice," reported William Bredderman.

"Both lawyers declined to comment for this story, but one told the Washington Post earlier this month that his relationship with Menendez dates back a quarter of a century. The paper further revealed Daibes had received a subpoena as part of the inquiry last year. The Washington Post was one of several outlets to publish stories confirming The Daily Beast’s earlier findings."

"The Daily Beast can now exclusively report that, according to former organized crime investigators, Garden State authorities in charge of tracking members of La Cosa Nostra spied high-ranking mobsters meeting with Daibes repeatedly over the last decade," said the report, noting that the sources wished to remain anonymous.

"However, they identified one of the repeat visitors to the Daibes offices as Michael 'Tona' Borelli, who died in 2020 — but who in life was among the most powerful men in the New Jersey crew of the Genovese family, one of the five Italian mafia clans of New York City."

Borelli, who was known as one of the "three top Genovese operatives in New Jersey," pleaded guilty to state and federal charges connected to unauthorized gambling rings in the 2000s.

New Jersey prosecutors have declined to give any further information about the case, and Daibes denies having any involvement with mob activity, saying his relationship with Borelli was about a "legitimate business" run by his surviving children.

The criminal investigation into Menendez, first made public last year, is looking into if Menendez and his family received gifts including a D.C. apartment and a luxury car. It is not the first time he has landed in hot water. In 2015, Menendez was charged for allegedly giving improper favors to a Florida eye doctor in exchange for gifts and campaign contributions, but that case led to first a mistrial in 2017 and then a partial acquittal in 2018, followed by prosecutors dropping the rest of the case.