Thirty-seven years ago today, on October 31, 1988 (September 21, 1988), the Philippines pleaded not guilty to charges against the wife of former President Marcos. Marcos was unable to appear in court due to his serious illness, and his wife Imelda was represented to the New York District Court for trial. On October 31, 1988, Imelda Marcos, the wife of former Philippine President Marcos, pleaded not guilty to charges of defrauding $268 million. The indictment accused the Marcos of using stolen Philippine funds to purchase real estate in New York. Imelda Marcos flew from Hawaii to New York on October 30. After Imelda formally pleaded not guilty, the judge set bail at $5 million, but refused to detain Mrs. Marcos and instead ordered her to stay in New York for 72 hours or until bail was granted. Former President Marcos said his arraignment was delayed because of a heart condition that prevented him from traveling to New York. He is still in Hawaii. The Marcos are accused of transferring $103 million in stolen Philippine funds to the United States to buy four Manhattan office buildings. They are also accused of defrauding two American banks of $165 million. On October 21, U.S. federal prosecutors accepted an indictment against former Philippine President Marcos, accusing him of embezzling the Philippine national wealth. State Department officials tried to block the indictment of Mr. Marcos, fearing that a "pernicious precedent" would make it harder to persuade foreign dictators to step down voluntarily in the future, according to people here. But President Reagan decided that the case was not about foreign policy and should be handled by the Justice Department. According to the investigation by a federal grand jury in Manhattan, New York, since June 1986, the Marcos and their associates are suspected of using Philippine and US government funds to purchase hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate, including four office buildings and other properties in New York; setting up secret accounts in Swiss banks; and instructing their agents to illegally transfer assets in the United States. In early October, officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the General Administration of Customs raided the home of Marcos's son-in-law in San Francisco and found a large number of precious paintings, sculptures, antiques and other works of art believed to have been stolen by Marcos from the Philippines. On October 22, the Philippine government welcomed the opening of a federal grand jury in Manhattan, New York, indicting former Philippine President Marcos and his wife for fraud. It called the move support for the Aquino regime. The head of the Integrity Commission, which is assisting the United States in investigating the case, said it would be an "emphatic message" to dictators around the world who are "above the law, looting the country and abusing the public trust to enrich themselves, that they can no longer find safe haven in the United States." When Marcos came to the United States, he claimed that his total assets were less than $1 million. After more than two years of investigation, a federal grand jury found that Marcos and his accomplices used Philippine government funds of $102 million to buy three office buildings in New York from 1981 to 1983, and fraudulently lent $1.6.50 billion to two US banks for additional funds for New York real estate and other private property. The Marcos also own a large number of deposit accounts in banks in Switzerland, Hong Kong, the Philippines, the United States and other places. A large number of shares in investment, construction, real estate and other companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Philippines, and art and furniture worth 6 million dollars. The total amount of assets is unknown. The indictment also charges the Marcos with contempt of court for refusing grand jury subpoenas to provide samples of their fingerprints, voice and handwriting. Under the fraud provisions of U.S. law, if the Marcos are convicted, their illegal property will be forfeited and can be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.