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Quartet Sentenced In Edgewater Millionaire Developer Beating, Robbery

EDGEWATER, N.J. -- Four people involved in the home invasion robbery of Edgewater developer Fred Daibes at his luxury high-rise apartment were sentenced to prison terms of 12 to 18 years in Hackensack on Friday.

Ramona Mercado-Vasquez, 27, must serve 11 years and nine months.

Ramona Mercado-Vasquez, 27, must serve 11 years and nine months.

Photo Credit: Mary K. Miraglia
Developer Fred Daibes addresses the judge during the sentencing hearing in Hackensack.

Developer Fred Daibes addresses the judge during the sentencing hearing in Hackensack.

Photo Credit: Mary K. Miraglia
Adonis Sepulveda, Alexander Suarez, defense attorney Ron Bar-Nadav, Ramona Mercado-Vasquez

Adonis Sepulveda, Alexander Suarez, defense attorney Ron Bar-Nadav, Ramona Mercado-Vasquez

Photo Credit: Mary K. Miraglia
Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor David Calviello

Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor David Calviello

Photo Credit: Mary K. Miraglia
Adonis Sepulveda, 32, must serve more than 15 years.

Adonis Sepulveda, 32, must serve more than 15 years.

Photo Credit: Mary K. Miraglia
"They aren't sorry," Daibes told the judge. "They are sorry they got caught."

"They aren't sorry," Daibes told the judge. "They are sorry they got caught."

Photo Credit: Mary K. Miraglia
Adonis Sepulveda, Jorge Valencia, Alexander Suarez, Ramona Mercado-Vasquez

Adonis Sepulveda, Jorge Valencia, Alexander Suarez, Ramona Mercado-Vasquez

Photo Credit: Mary K. Miraglia

Daibes, speaking before the sentencings, told Superior Court Judge Edward A. Jerejian that the plea-bargained terms weren't enough.

"I got a life's sentence," he said, "and I didn't commit any crime....They aren't sorry. They are sorry they got caught."

All must serve at least 85% of their sentences, which means:

Adonis Sepulveda, 32, must serve more than 15 years;

Jorge Valencia, 48, must serve nearly 13 years;

Ramona Mercado-Vasquez, 27, must serve 11 years and nine months.

Alexander Suarez, 21, must serve a little over 10 years.

Mercado-Vasquez, who will be deported to her native Dominican Republic after serving her sentence, cried throughout. She sobbed heavily when Jerejian sentenced her boyfriend, Sepulveda -- who was born in the DR and is naturalized citizen.

"You were fortunate to have received these plea agreements," the judge told them. "If you were convicted at trial you might have never gotten out of jail.

"The crime was indescribable in the harm it did. And all you are claiming is it's the fault of others," he said. "But it wasn't. It was your fault."

Lawyer for the group had insisted a fifth conspirator did the most damage to Daibes.

Several factors make the case unique, Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor David Calviello said.

For one, the victim is a millionaire. For another, somewhere between $3-4 million in cash, gold, diamonds and guns were robbed from Daibes’s St. Moritz residence overnight Nov. 26, 2013 after he and his doorman were brutally beaten.

Valencia, the ringleader, also was a close confidante whom Daibes trusted.

He “was taken under Fred Daibes’ wing when he came here from Colombia with nothing, given a good job and an apartment in the St. Mortiz for himself and his family,” Calviello said during the September pleas.

Suarez admitted serving as the lookout and helping plan the robbery and kidnapping of Daibes’s concierge — which the four decided would be necessary so they could disable the security system.

All of the stolen property was found in Mercado-Vasquez’s apartment and returned to Daibes, who weeks ago underwent a third surgery for injuries sustained in the beating.

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