Senator Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wife have been charged with federal bribery in New York for their allegedly “corrupt relationship” with three businessmen from their home state in order to protect those guys and benefit Egypt.
The United States Attorney’s Office in Manhattan has set a press conference for 11 a.m. ET Friday to explain the indictment against the senator and his wife, Nadine Menendez, as well as three businessmen: Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes.
According to the indictment, Menendez and his wife collected “hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using Menendez’s power and influence as Senator” to benefit the men and Egypt from at least 2018 through 2022.
“Those bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-who job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value,” according to the indictment issued by a grand jury in Manhattan federal court.
Menendez is the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is up for reelection in 2024. He and Nadine are charged with three counts: conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services fraud, and extortion under the color of official power. The first two criminal counts have been filed against Hana, Uribe, and Daibes.
Explosive details and seized assets
According to the accusation, Bob Menendez promised and attempted to obstruct a federal criminal prosecution of Daibes in exchange for money and other valuables. Menendez reportedly recommended to President Joe Biden that he choose a candidate for U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey “who Menendez believed could be influenced by Menendez concerning Daibes’s case,” according to the indictment.
A message left at Menendez’s Senate office was not returned immediately. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s spokesman did not respond to BreezyScroll’s request for comment.
According to the indictment, federal investigators discovered cash, gold, and a luxury automobile during a June 2022 raid on the Menendezs’ New Jersey home and a safe deposit box that were the “fruits of [the couple’s] corrupt bribery agreement” with the businessmen.
“Over $480,000 in cash — much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe—was discovered in the home, along with over $70,000 in Nadine Menendez’s safe deposit box,” the indictment said.
“Some of the envelopes contained the fingerprints and/or DNA of Daibes or his driver,” the charging document said.
In addition to the cash, agents seized 81.5 ounces of gold bars, which are worth around $155,000 at current prices.