Gold bars, hidden cash and 'substantial influence': Sen. Bob Menendez and wife indicted

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., has been indicted and charged with corruption for the second time in 10 years, this time along with his wife for allegedly accepting bribes including cash, gold, mortgage payments and a Mercedes-Benz.

Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, were indicted with three New Jersey businessmen and accused of a "corrupt relationship," according to federal prosecutors in New York.

“The senator and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for Sen. Menendez using his power and influence to protect and to enrich those businessmen and to benefit the government of Egypt,” said Damian Williams, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

They are charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.

Menendez was also charged with trying to influence a New Jersey attorney general's investigation of a relative o one co-defendant and of trying to influence the federal prosecution of another co-defendant through the appointment of a U.S. attorney in New Jersey, according to Williams.

The three businessmen from New Jersey − Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes − have been charged with conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit honest services fraud.

“This investigation is very much ongoing," Williams said. "We’re not done."

Menendez allegedly wielded Senate influence to benefit Egypt: prosecutors

The 69-year-old senator and his wife "allegedly accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using Menendez’s power and influence as a senator to seek to protect and enrich Hana, Uribe, and Daibes and benefit the Government of Egypt," prosecutors said in a news release

Menendez’s Senate web site explains the limits of his office, including not being able to compel an agency to act in someone’s favor, not getting involved in criminal matters. But the indictment alleges Menendez used his leadership role on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to benefit Egypt by providing non-public information to that country and improperly pressured a senior U.S. Agriculture Department official.

“We allege that behind the scenes Sen. Menendez was doing those things for the certainty of people who were bribing him and his wife,” Williams said.

Menendez allegedly gave 'highly sensitive' information to Egypt: indictment

Menendez allegedly passed along "highly sensitive" information about staffers at the U.S. embassy in Cairo, according to the indictment. Menendez also exerted "substantial influence" over military financing to Egypt, according to the indictment.

Egypt is one of the largest recipients of U.S. foreign aid in the world. Between 2018 and 2022, government provided grants totaling more than $1 billion per year in military financing and military sales, according to the indictment.

The State Department would typically honor "holds" that lawmakers such as Menendez could place on military aid, according to the indictment.

For example, in 2017, the State Department withheld $195 million in military financing and canceled another $65.7 million in financing, according to the indictment.

The indictment alleges Menendez met with an unnamed Egyptian military official in 2018, in a meeting arranged by Nadine Menendez, that included discussions of military aid. The senator hosted a dinner at a high-end restaurant in May 2018 and a short time later Hana texted the military official to say "the ban on small arms and ammunition to Egypt has been lifted," the indictment said.

Gold bars and $480,000 cash hidden

The indictment describes $480,000 in cash, much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, was bound in Nadine Menendez’s safe deposit box.

Pictures in the indictment show jackets bearing Robert Menendez’s name and a U.S. Senate seal, with the pockets were stuffed with cash.

More than $100,000 in gold bars were found at Menendez's home, which were allegedly provided by either Hana or Daibes, according to the indictment. Two of the bars were shown in pictures in the indictment.

Selling gold bars to a jeweler

On March 30, 2022, Nadine Menendez met with a jeweler who was friends with Daibes and Hana, according to the indictment. At the meeting, she provided the jeweler with two one-kilogram gold bars to be sold and falsely said they came from her mother.

However, a photograph on Nadine’s phone shows the gold bars marked with serial numbers indicating they were previously possessed by Daibes, according to the indictment. 

Three gold bars pictured in the indictment are worth about $150,000, according to Williams.

'Upset all morning'

The indictment detailed how Menendez and his wife provided funneled information and in exchange demanded payments.

In July 2018, Menendez texted his wife telling her to alert Hana that he was "going to sign off this sale to Egypt today" for 46,000 target practice rounds of 120 mm and 10,000 rounds of tank ammunition for a combined $99 million, according to the indictment.

But Hana failed to deliver on promised bribe payments, according to the indictment. After several months of non-payments, Nadine Menendez complained directly to her husband, according to the indictment.

"I have been to upset all morning," she told the senator, according to the indictment. "Will left for Egypt yesterday supposedly and now thinks he's king of the world and has both countries wrapped around his pinky. I really hope they replace him." 

Hana allegedly financed his bribes through a monopoly halal importing company called IS EG Halal, which resulted in higher costs for various U.S. meat suppliers, according to the indictment.

Officials from the U.S. Agriculture Department objected to Egypt granting the monopoly to IS EG Halal, but Menendez called an unnamed U.S. official on May 23, 2019, to insist the government halt its opposition, according to the indictment.

The U.S. official didn’t agree, but the monopoly held, according to the indictment.

A mortgage and a Mercedez-Benz

When Nadine Menendez’s mortgage lender initiated foreclosure proceedings against her home in July 2019, Hana paid about $23,000 to bring her mortgage up to date, according the indictment. But she complained repeatedly that Hana hadn’t sent promised payments, according to the indictment. IS EG Halal issued three $10,000 checks, in August, September and November 2019, according to the indictment.

After Robert Menendez called an unnamed official in January 2019 to help an unnamed defendant in New Jersey resolve a criminal case, Hana and Uribe helped provide Nadine Menendez with a Mercedes-Benz convertible from a dealership in Edison, New Jersey, according to the indictment.

She made a $15,000 down payment on the car a day after an April 4, 2019, meeting with Uribe when he gave her that amount in a restaurant parking lot, according to the indictment.

"You are a miracle worker who makes dreams come true I will always remember that," Nadine Menendez texted Uribe, according to the indictment.

Uribe later made monthly financing payments for the remaining $60,000 due for the car, eventually paying half that outstanding debt, according to the indictment.

Menendez indicted a second time

This is the second time the New Jersey lawmaker has been indicted. He previously beat corruption charges of alleged bribery with a hung jury in 2018.

At the time, prosecutors said Menendez used his office to benefit a Florida eye doctor in exchange for nearly $1 million in gifts and campaign contributions. Menendez repeatedly defended himself and said he did nothing wrong

He faced 14 criminal counts, including eight counts of bribery.

Menendez was later cleared of the criminal charges three years later after the Justice Department asked a federal court to dismiss the 2015 indictment.

Republicans blast Menendez for alleged corruption

Republicans blasted Menendez after the charges were announced.

“Bob Menendez is a disgrace who abused his Senate seat and allegedly betrayed his country for a couple hundred thousand dollars. Democrats covered for Menendez the first time he got indicted for corruption, it would be a shame if they did so again," said Philip Letsou, spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Will Menendez have to step down as chair of Foreign Relations Committee?

Menendez will be required to give up the gavel of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, according to current Senate Democratic Conference Rules

The rules state any committee chair charged with a felony will be required to step down to allow the most senior eligible Democratic member to serve as acting chair. 

Menendez voluntarily stepped down as the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when he was indicted in 2015.

He later resumed his position as after charges were dropped three years later.