Justin Bieber to play in Newark? Apparently not

NEWARK — The bout of "Bieber fever" was short-lived in Newark.

On Monday, the owner of the Newark Bears baseball team blasted out a news release that claimed Justin Bieber was coming to town on Oct. 28 for a charity event at Bears & Riverfront Stadium.

The announcement was simply "pure fiction," Bieber’s publicist quickly told The Star-Ledger.

But for the 24 hours that followed, Bears’ owner Danielle Dronet continued to insist the deal was on. She sent out tweets and Facebook messages confirming the arrangement. She even threw the ball in Bieber’s court, assuring fans that the pop prince would be "honoring his contract" and would "hold a charity concert with a meet-and-greet."

Bieber’s high-profile lawyer, Aaron Rosenberg, was made aware of the situation today, and by midafternoon, the baseball team had stripped its website of any reference to Bieber.

And among the vast network of press representatives, attorneys and managers working for the 18-year-old, new denials were backed by fresh legal threats.

"No such appearance was ever confirmed," said Bieber’s publicist, Melissa Victor, in an e-mail. "His legal team will take legal action against any firm or person holding themselves out as Justin’s authorized agent who may have confirmed any such event. AEG is their exclusive promoter in the U.S. for all dates on the current tour."

Reached by phone today, Dronet hung up on a reporter.

She did release a message on the Bears’ Facebook page, which said, "The Newark Bears and The Newark Bears That Care Foundation are investigating a situation regarding fraudulent representation of Justin Bieber, who has no part of any potential related fraudulent activity."

The event would go on, she said, sans Bieber.

STAY CONNECTED 24/7 Download our free NJ.com mobile and tablet apps to keep up with the latest New Jersey news, sports and entertainment.

The allegations of "fraudulent representation" appear to be aimed at the California-based entertainment group, SkyIsland Promotions. On Monday, Dronet said that SkyIsland had helped broker the deal with Bieber’s team. She said she had signed a contract and wired money to them, but she did not reveal the financial terms of the agreement.

The vice president of SkyIsland, Rene Lujan, said his group helps arrange deals between a client, such as Dronet, who wants to pay for a popular artist, and that artist’s management team.

On Monday, Lujan said the Bieber gig was "100 percent on" and "not a hoax." The final details of the contract had been messed up, he said, because of the Columbus Day holiday.

But this afternoon, Lujan expressed his doubts about the contract.

"The latest is that I’m totally confused," he said. "Frankly, a lot of these (deals) fall through the cracks. The bottom line is, nothing is in stone."