A federal grand jury in New York has returned a scathing accusation against U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, DN.J., chairman of the powerful Foreign Relations Committee, in connection with improper foreign relations and business dealings.
The investigation focused on a luxury car, gold bars and an apartment allegedly received by Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian. His wife was also charged.
The indictment accuses Menendez, 69, and his wife of having a corrupt relationship with three New Jersey businessmen: Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daides.
The indictment accuses Menendez and his wife of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using the senator’s power and influence to seek to protect and enrich the businessman.
“These bribes included cash, gold, home mortgage payments, compensation for low or no-show work, a luxury vehicle and other things of value,” the indictment said.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Menendez, DN.J., right, and his wife Nadine Arslanian pose for a photo on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022.
Susan Walsh/AP, FILE
This is the second time that New Jersey’s senior senator has been accused of corruption. A The 2015 indictment ended in a mistrial in 2018, after a jury failed to reach a verdict on all charges and a judge acquitted him of some charges.
Previous charges against Menendez centered on his relationship with Florida ophthalmologist Solomon Melgen, a close ally of the senator. Menendez allegedly accepted gifts from Melgen in exchange for using the power of his senate office to benefit the doctor’s financial and personal interests.
A photo of a jacket and cash from the indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez, found during a 2022 search by federal agents. Investigators found more than $480,000 in cash in his New Jersey home.
United States Southern District of New York
A photo of a jacket and cash from the indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez, found during a 2022 search by federal agents. Investigators found more than $480,000 in cash in his New Jersey home.
United States Southern District of New York
In June 2022, federal agents searched Menendez’s New Jersey home and found “fruits” of the couple’s “corrupt bribery arrangement” with the three businessmen, according to the indictment. Investigators found more than $480,000 in cash, some stuffed in envelopes and hidden in clothing, as well as $70,000 in Nadine Menendez’s safe.
Also found in the home were more than $100,000 worth of gold bars, “provided by Hana or Daibes,” according to the indictment.
Menendez allegedly gave sensitive U.S. government information “that secretly assisted the Egyptian government” and “improperly advised and pressured” a U.S. agricultural official to protect an exclusive contract for Hana to be the exclusive meat supplier halal in Egypt, according to the indictment.
A photo of a gold bar from the indictment of Senator Bob Menendez, found during a 2022 search by federal agents. According to the indictment, more than $100,000 in gold bars were found in his New Jersey home.
United States Southern District of New York
Menendez also tried to disrupt a criminal investigation into a second trucking industry employer by the New Jersey attorney general, according to the indictment.
The senator is also accused of recommending someone to the president to be the US attorney in New Jersey whom he believed he could influence.
Menendez appears to be the first senator to be indicted on two unrelated criminal charges while in office, according to the Senate Historical Office.
All five are due to appear in federal court in Manhattan on September 27.
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