Tommy Schaefer’s cousin pleads not guilty

A man accused of helping plot the sensational murder in Bali of a Chicago socialite pleaded not guilty Thursday to a federal indictment.

Robert Bibbs is accused of aiding Tommy Schaefer and Heather Mack as they planned the murder of Mack’s mother, Sheila von-Wiese-Mack, in 2014. He wore a sweatshirt to court featuring the face of Nelson Mandela. He left without commenting.

Schaefer and Mack have been convicted in Indonesia of killing von Wiese-Mack. Schaefer, 22, is serving an 18-year prison sentence for battering her to death. Mack, 20, is serving 10 years. The 62-year-old von Wiese-Mack’s body was found in a suitcase in the trunk of a taxi outside the St. Regis Bali Resort in August 2014.

The feds say Schaefer expected to put his hands on up to $11 million through Mack’s inheritance. Bibbs, Schaefer’s cousin, also expected to profit, federal prosecutors have alleged.

A federal magistrate judge ordered Bibbs released last month after the feds filed a complaint against him Sept. 22. A federal grand jury indicted Bibbs last week.

The Chicago Sun-Times first reported in August on the existence of a federal search warrant application which indicated von Wiese-Mack’s death had prompted a federal investigation into the foreign murder of a United States national.