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Company Information

Central Bergen Properties, and its related entities under common ownership of Ms. Laura Pugliese with 93 percent and Mr. Anthony V Pugliese III with 3 percent since 1983, is consolidated under Pugliese Creative Ventures (PCV) and headquartered at 101 Pugliese Way in Delray Beach, Florida. PVC is a privately-held Real-Estate management acquisition, sales, and development company directed by its president, Anthony V. Pugliese, III, and its Executive Vice-President, Laura Pugliese. For over 35 years, the company has grown steadily to develop and manage over millions of square feet of office, industrial, retail, multi-family, and self-storage projects in the vibrant South Florida and New Jersey marketplaces. Many PCV projects present unique and controversial issues requiring expert knowledge of land use, securing necessary zoning approvals, and entitlements. The multi-divisional organization has successfully worked through scores of challenging projects with a careful eye to sensitive issues of land use, homeowners’ groups, and the environment, including understanding the complexities of Planned Unit Development, Development of Regional Impact, and rural and stewardship.

Ms. Laura Pugliese has been in the real estate industry since the age of 18 and became a licensed Real-Estate Broker in the state of Florida at the age of 24. Commercial Real-Estate has been her area of expertise; she provided services to clients in all aspects of the Real-Estate business, including acquisitions, land development, rezoning, project design, construction, renovation, leasing, and management. However, she now applies her expertise to over 1,500,000 square feet of commercial properties in Florida and New Jersey. One of the properties is located in Garfield, New Jersey, and comprises most of the 1,500,000 square feet; this commercial complex consists mostly of warehouse and industrial type tenants. Ms. Pugliese is actively involved with the property's marketing and leasing strategies, tenant selection, and negotiation. She keeps current on all commercial real estate market developments, affecting the assets and trends' value. Additionally, Ms. Pugliese owns 50 percent of an entity that owns a 300,00 square feet property in Belleville, New Jersey.

Moreover, Ms. Pugliese owns another property located in Delray Beach, Florida, and is a 35,000 square foot indoor shopping center. The property recently underwent an $800,000 renovation to update the building's interior and exterior and was renamed the Big Apple Marketplace. Ms. Pugliese is the President and COO of the Big Apple Marketplace and oversees the management and day-to-day operations. Ms. Pugliese provides direction to her management staff in negotiating with third parties to provide service contracts and extraordinary repair and maintenance items at the property. She also works with management to develop budgets for advertising and capital expenses to minimize expenses and increase profits while creating a shopping environment that both tenants and shoppers enjoy.

Mr. Anthony V. Pugliese III is a based real estate developer. He is the chairman and founder of the Pugliese Company, a diversified real estate and business development company. Since the 1970s, Mr. Pugliese and the Pugliese Company have designed high-end condos, office buildings, and self-storage units that enhance property values in surrounding areas. The Pugliese Company is best known for the Destiny Project, a large scale eco-sustainable community designed as a biotechnology hub located in Osceola County near Yeehaw Junction, Florida. The city encompassed more than 61 square miles, spanning more than 41,000 acres, making this acquisition by Pugliese the most extensive land acquisition in Central Florida since Walt Disney acquired the land that would become Walt Disney World. After starting the Destiny project, Pugliese eventually brought on FD Destiny LLC, owned by Fred Deluca, co-Founder of Subway, as a co-investor. It was one of 16 initial projects of "climate positive" real estate developments supported by the Clinton Climate Initiative. In 2010, the project was delayed due to lawsuits and opposition from Florida state agencies.

The Destiny land deal eventually fell apart, resulting in a contentious lawsuit and eventual trial against Anthony V. Pugliese Ill. In 2012 charges were filed against Pugliese to create fake companies and use phony billings to steal from Frederick Deluca. Pugliese was eventually found guilty and sentenced to 6 months in jail, along with ten years of probation. His business manager Joseph Reamer pleaded no contest and was sentenced to a four-year probation term. In January 2018, a Palm Beach Circuit Judge ordered Pugliese to pay $23 million to the estate of former business partner Frederick Deluca.

The sworn statements in the civil cases, Pugliese admitted to creating the phantom companies and fake invoices - but only to protect the Destiny project in case Deluca pulled his financial support. The defendant insisted the funds in question were spent only on legitimate development expenses. According to Doug Marek, General Counsel for Anthony Pugliese, Deluca began withholding his portions of funding for the project, leading Pugliese to come out of pocket for substantial amounts to keep the project going. Eventually, the project failed because of insufficient funding, and Pugliese sued Deluca and Subway, seeking $5 Billion (which was increased to $20 Billion).

Marek also said that Pugliese hired Louis Freeh, a former director of the FBI, and the investigator hired by Penn State to perform an independent review following the Sandusky incident to conduct an independent investigation of the allegations against Pugliese. The report concluded that Pugliese was not involved in any wrongdoing. Pugliese is continuing to pursue his civil suit against Subway and Deluca's estate, which now includes claims related to the criminal case and his ultimate imprisonment.

Pugliese was initially charged with 19 counts and could have spent the rest of his life in prison if convicted. Around that time, he was diagnosed with leukemia. He was offered a plea deal by the State's Attorney in which 17 charges would be dropped in exchange for a plea of no contest to 2 charges and six months in prison with the possibility of release after four months for good behavior. Pugliese accepted the plea bargain because of Pugliese's treatment and the short sentence compared to what he could face at trial. Pugliese was released after having served four months in prison and has now returned to work.

The loans are cross-collateralized defaulted with a proposed $10,200M new loan to the client secured by a 1,169,382 SF, Class B multi-story loft industrial property located at 141 Lanza Avenue and 72-180 Kipp Avenue in Garfield Bergen County, NJ 07026. Additional collateral taken as an Abundance of Caution will include three land parcels in Broward County. Three land parcels in Miami improved with single-family residences and the principal's owner-occupied office building. The combined DSCR will be 2.87X based on the 2018 operating statements.

Third Party Ratings

· A review of a Nexis Lexus report acquired on the Central Bergen Properties revealed several civil suits and state tax liens from 1989 through 2011. Also, OFAC reports pulled on the borrower were cleared.

· A review of a Nexis Lexus report acquired on Central Bergen Investors indicated no derogatory information. Also, OFAC reports pulled on the aforementioned were cleared.

· A review of a Nexis Lexus report acquired on Central Bergen Properties, Inc., indicated no derogatory information. Also, OFAC reports pulled on the aforementioned were cleared.