Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and his wife, Nadine, arrive for a court appearance at Manhattan federal court on Sept. 27. (Michael M. Santiago / Getty Images file)
Nadine Menendez, wife of disgraced former Senator Bob Menendez, was found guilty on all 15 federal counts in a sweeping bribery and corruption case.
The charges against Nadine Menendez included bribery, wire fraud, obstruction of justice, and acting as a foreign agent.
“Moments ago, a unanimous jury convicted Nadine Menendez for her critical role in a corruption and foreign influence scheme involving her husband, convicted former Senator Robert Menendez. Nadine Menendez and Senator Menendez were partners in crime,” said Acting United States Attorney Matthew Podolsky.
Prosecutors detailed how she and her husband accepted lavish bribes—cash, gold bars, and a luxury Mercedes-Benz convertible—from three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for political favors.
These favors notably benefited foreign governments, including Egypt and Qatar, raising serious national security concerns.
“Over the span of five years, Nadine Menendez agreed to accept and accepted all sorts of bribes – including gold bars, cash, a Mercedes-Benz convertible, and a no-show job – all in exchange for the Senator’s corrupt official acts,” said Podolsky.
“Together, Nadine Menendez and the Senator placed their own interests and greed ahead of the interests of the citizens the Senator was elected to serve. Today’s verdict sends the clear message that the power of government officials may not be put up for sale, and that all those who facilitate corruption will be held accountable for their actions.”
New York Post reported:
Prosecutors said she acted as the “go-between” connecting Bob with businessmen who funneled bribes to them from the Egyptian and Qatari governments.
In exchange, the pilloried pol leveraged his powerful post as head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to lobby colleagues to unfreeze $300 million in Egyptian military aid that had been held up due to human rights concerns and dole out other valuable favors, jurors heard.
“What else can the love of my life do for you?” Nadine told one Egyptian official while sitting alongside her cigar-puffing hubby during a May 2019 dinner at Morton’s Steakhouse, evidence revealed.
Former Garden State insurance broker Jose Uribe testified that he bribed Nadine with a new Mercedes-Benz C-300 in exchange for her husband’s help shutting down a criminal probe.
“Congratulations mon amour de la vie, we are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes,” Nadine texted her husband after receiving the first payment toward the new car, using the French phrase for “love of my life.”
FBI agents who raided the couple’s Englewood Hills home found the luxury car parked in their garage, and more than $150,000 in gold bars stored inside Nadine’s safe. Jurors saw more than $400,000 in cash stuffed into envelopes and strewn across the home, including inside the former senator’s official government windbreaker.
The conviction follows that of Bob Menendez, who was found guilty last year on 16 counts, including acting as a foreign agent—the first sitting U.S. senator to be convicted of such a charge. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and is scheduled to begin his sentence in June.
Menendez sobbed as he begged SDNY Judge Sidney Stein to have mercy on him.
In September, Sen. Bob Menendez, the senior U.S. Senator from New Jersey and the former Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his wife, Nadine Menendez, were indicted on bribery and corruption charges.
In October, Bob Menendez was charged with acting as a foreign agent in a superseding indictment.
Bob Menendez and his wife are under investigation for their involvement in a bribery scheme from 2018 to 2022. The couple, who began dating in February 2018 and married in October 2020, are alleged to have accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes.
The bribes came from Wael Hana, an Egyptian native with connections to Egyptian officials, Fred Daibes, a New Jersey real estate developer and long-time donor to Senator Menendez, and Jose Uribe, involved in the New Jersey insurance and trucking business.
The range of bribes included gold, cash, a luxury convertible, and significant payments towards Nadine Menendez’s home mortgage.
In June 2022, a significant development occurred when the FBI executed a raid at the Menendez residence in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey,. This operation uncovered many elements of the bribery scheme.
According to the DOJ, over $480,000 in cash, much of it concealed in envelopes and hidden in various parts of the house, including clothing and closets, was discovered. A safe in the house contained additional cash and valuables. Over $70,000 in cash was found in Nadine Menendez’s safe deposit box during a separate search.
Source: DOJ
Some of the envelopes recovered bore the fingerprints and/or DNA of Fred Daibes or his driver, further linking them to the scheme. Other envelopes with Senator Menendez’s name were found in jackets hanging in his closet.
One of the most significant discoveries was over one hundred thousand dollars’ worth of gold bars located within the home. According to reports, 13 gold bars were found.
Source: DOJ
Source: DOJ
According to a report by NBC News, the serial numbers on the gold bars correspond with those reported stolen from Fred Daibes during an armed robbery in Edgewater, New Jersey, nearly a decade ago.
For instance, one particular gold bar, produced by Swiss Bank Corporation and carrying the serial number 590005, was identified among the items seized from Menendez’s home during this year’s FBI raid.
This same gold bar had been listed as stolen and later returned to Daibes in 2013. The evidence logs from the earlier incident, bearing Daibes’ signature and initials, meticulously cataloged each gold bar, including their individual serial numbers, thereby linking them to the current investigation.
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