Federal prosecutors have indicted Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey and his wife on corruption charges, alleging he took bribes to enrich New Jersey businessmen while offering benefits to the Egyptian government.
The indictment alleges real estate developer Fred Daibes; Wael Hana, who owns a halal meat certification business in New Jersey; and businessman Jose Uribe collectively provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for Menendez’s “acts and breaches of duty to benefit the Government of Egypt, Hana, and others, including with respect to foreign military sales and foreign military financing.”
It also says Menendez provided sensitive information to the Egyptian government.
Menendez, a Democrat, leads the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee and is a longtime member of New Jersey’s congressional delegation. The indictment comes almost six years after Menendez was tried on corruption charges related to a Florida eye surgeon, which ended in a mistrial.
Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York allege in the indictment that the corruption scheme began in 2018, the same year Menendez met his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez. It says Nadine Arslanian Menendez is a longtime friend of Hana’s.
The indictment says Menendez took bribes that included “cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-showjob, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value.”
Prosecutors also say he interfered with the state attorney general’s office’s investigation into Jose Uribe, a former insurance agent convicted of fraud. The indictment describes Uribe as a business associate of Hana’s.
In a lengthy statement following the release of the indictment, Menendez said the charges were false and suggested there was a campaign against him, waged by people who “cannot accept that a first-generation Latino American from humble beginnings could rise to be a U.S. Senator and serve with honor and distinction.”
Menendez was charged in 2015 with giving political favors to an associate in exchange for donations, vacations and use of a private jet. The 2017 trial resulted in a hung jury.
“To my supporters, friends and the community at large, I ask that you recall the other times the prosecutors got it wrong and that you reserve judgement,” Menendez said in a statement Friday. “I am confident that this matter will be successfully resolved once all of the facts are presented and my fellow New Jerseyans will see this for what it is.”
Friday’s indictment says a search warrant of Menendez’s home and safe deposit box turned up gold, a luxury vehicle, and $480,000 in cash — much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets and a safe. The indictment says law enforcement found $70,000 in Nadine Arslanian Menendez’s safe deposit box.
Photos included in the indictment show gold bars, as well as wads of cash with jackets emblazoned “Robert Menendez Congressional Hispanic Caucus” and “Senator Menendez.”
Prosecutors say they found cash stuffed into jackets and clothing in Menendez’s home.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
The indictment also alleges Hana paid about $23,000 for the couple’s mortgage, after a mortgage company initiated foreclosure proceedings; after a payment was missed, Nadine Arslanian Menendez texted the senator saying “I am soooooo upset.”
As a ranking member and then chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez “possessed influence over, among other things, the executive branch’s decisions to provide foreign military sales, foreign military financing, and other aid or support to or for the benefit of the government of Egypt,” the indictment states.
At a brief press conference after the unsealing of the indictment Friday, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams accused Menendez of aiding a foreign power.
“Among other actions, Senator Menendez allegedly provided sensitive, non-public U. S. government information to Egyptian officials and otherwise took steps to secretly aid the government of Egypt,” Williams said.
Before 2018, Egypt faced barriers to U.S. aid because of concerns about human rights and anti-democratic practices. But during the time described in the indictment Egypt was one of the largest recipients of U.S. Military aid worldwide, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors say they found more than $100,000 in gold bars in Menendez’s home.
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
The indictment says Menendez took steps that included ghostwriting a letter on behalf of Egyptian officials to sway other U.S. senators into granting $300 million in aid. And it says Menendez pressured a Department of Agriculture official to benefit Hana and the Egyptian government.
In 2019, the Egyptian government granted Hana’s company, IS EG Halal, an exclusive monopoly on certification of U.S. food exports to Egypt as compliant with halal standards, even though Hana and his company had no experience with halal certification, prosecutors said. That, in turn, let Hana provide payments to Menendez and his wife, according to prosecutors.
After an Egyptian official informed Hana of the monopoly certification, Nadine Arslanian Menendez texted the senator: “Seems like halal went through. It might be a fantastic 2019 all the way around,” according to the indictment.
It says in June 2019, Nadine Arslanian Menendez’ formed “Strategic International Business Consultants, LLC” with help from Menendez, and the company was used to receive bribe payments. Nadine Arslanian Menendez allegedly sent a text message to a relative: “Every time I’m in a middle person for a deal I am asking to get paid and this is my consulting company.”
Uribe, of Union City, was previously convicted of fraud in New Jersey and subsequently lost his insurance broker’s license. He’s accused of purchasing a Mercedes Benz for Nadine Menendez in exchange for the senator’s advocacy on his behalf in criminal matters involving Uribe at the State Attorney General’s Office.
Menendez contacted a senior attorney at the AG’s office to allegedly apply pressure on Uribe’s behalf, the indictment says.
Williams said Menendez went beyond the scope of permitted constituent services to benefit himself, his bribers and the Egyptian government.
“The senator agreed to do these things and use his powers in this way because Hana was paying bribes, because Uribe was paying bribes, and because Daibes was paying bribes,” Williams said.
The U.S. Attorney said the investigation is ongoing and encouraged anyone with information to “come forward quickly.”
Last year, when the news site Semafor.com broke the story of the new Menendez investigation, several Democrats were quick to sing his praises. Gov. Phil Murphy said at the time that he didn’t know much about the accusations, but that Menendez had been an “incredibly valuable and important partner,” and a strong advocate for New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
At an event to commemorate Sandy’s 10th anniversary in the days following the Semafor story, fellow U.S. Sen. Cory Booker called Menendez “not just a hero for this state, but for Louisiana to Florida, to every community that is suffering the ravages of climate change.” And U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone said Menendez was accessible to people suffering after Sandy: “You could just call him up and ask for individual help.”
Menendez, 69, started his career in the 1980’s as a local New Jersey politician. He was elected to Congress in 1992 where he served until 2006 when he was appointed to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by newly elected Gov. Jon Corzine. He is next up for re-election in 2024. He refused to step down during his first trial on federal corruption charges, but if he were to resign during his term, Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, would appoint his successor.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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