Wife of Former New Jersey Senator Found Guilty in Bribery Scheme

New York– Nadine Menendez, the wife of former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, was found guilty on Monday of conspiring with her husband to receive bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, and a luxury car from three businessmen in New Jersey seeking assistance with their business affairs or legal issues.

The jury delivered its decision at the same federal courthouse in Manhattan where Bob Menendez was previously convicted on similar charges. The Democratic former senator is set to start serving an 11-year prison sentence in June.

During the three-week trial, the evidence presented to the jurors traced the rapid development of the relationship between the couple, which began in early 2018 and endured even after they were charged with crimes in September 2023. Prosecutors consistently referred to them as “partners in crime” throughout the proceedings.

During a 2022 raid on the couple’s Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home, FBI agents found nearly $150,000 worth of gold bars and $480,000 in cash stuffed in boots, shoeboxes and jackets. In the garage was a Mercedes-Benz convertible, also an alleged bribe.

MORE | Prosecutors portray Nadine Menendez as ‘partner in crime’ with her convicted ex-senator husband

Both Nadine and Bob Menendez said they are innocent and never took any bribes.

Initially, they were to be tried together, along with the three businessmen, but Nadine Menendez’s trial was postponed a year ago after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery.

Bob Menendez, 71, resigned from the Senate last August following his conviction. Before the charges were brought he had been chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Prosecutors accused Nadine Menendez of starting to facilitating bribes to the senator around the time that they began dating, before they married in the fall of 2020.

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At the time, she was in danger of losing her home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, after missing nearly $20,000 in mortgage payments, trial testimony showed. A longtime friend, Wael Hana, provided cash to save the home – and prosecutors said that in return, the senator began helping Hana preserve a business monopoly he had arranged with the Egyptian government to certify that imported meat met religious requirements.

Nadine Menendez also needed a new car after her old one was destroyed when she struck and killed a man crossing a street. (She did not face charges in the crash). Prosecutors said a businessman, Jose Uribe, gave her a Mercedes-Benz, and in return Bob Menendez used his clout to pressure the New Jersey attorney general’s office to stop investigating some of Uribe’s associates.

Prosecutor said more cash and gold bribes were paid to the couple by Fred Daibes, a prominent real estate developer who prosecutors said wanted the senator to protect him from a criminal case he was facing in New Jersey. Prosecutors said Bob Menendez also helped Daibes secure a $95 million investment from a Qatari investment fund.

Nadine Menendez, 58, was described by prosecutors at her trial as crucial to the scheme, enabling the senator to communicate with the businessmen and Egyptian government officials.

Besides his conviction on bribery charges, Bob Menendez also was convicted of acting as an agent for the Egyptian government. Prosecutors said that in return for some of the bribes, he ghostwrote a letter for Egyptian officials to give to his fellow senators to calm their concerns about human rights abuses and encourage them to lift a hold on $300 million in military aid.

Nadine Menendez’s lawyer, Barry Coburn, had argued during his closing arguments to the jury that the evidence was insufficient for a conviction.

“These things we’re talking about here are unproven,” he said.

He said the dealings the senator had with the businessmen were just what a politician is supposed to do for his constituents.

In a rebuttal argument , Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Richenthal urged the jury to convict Nadine Menendez, calling the evidence against her “consistent and overwhelming.”

Uribe pleaded guilty and testified against the others. Hana and Dabies were convicted along with the senator. Hana has been sentenced to eight years in prison while Daibes got seven years behind bars.