Senator’s wife convicted in bribery scheme

NEW YORK Nadine Menendez the wife of former U S Sen Bob Menendez was convicted Monday of teaming up with her husband to accept bribes of cash gold bars and a luxury car from three New Jersey men looking for help with their business dealings or legal troubles The jury returned a verdict of guilty on all counts in the same federal courthouse in Manhattan where a different jury convicted Bob Menendez of numerous of the same charges last year The Democrat is supposed to begin serving an -year prison term in June Nadine Menendez who stood but did not appear to react as the verdict was delivered by the jury foreperson was scheduled to be sentenced on June six days after her husband is expected to description to prison Outside the courthouse she wore a pink mask as she stood next to her lawyer Barry Coburn mentioned he was devastated by the verdict We fought hard and it hurts he disclosed This is a very rough day for us The evidence shown to jurors over a three-week trial followed the timeline of the whirlwind romance between the couple that began in early and continued after criminal charges were brought against them in September Repeatedly during the trial prosecutors reported they were partners in crime During a raid on the couple s Englewood Cliffs New Jersey home FBI agents exposed nearly worth of gold bars and in cash stuffed in boots shoeboxes and jackets In the garage was a Mercedes-Benz convertible also an alleged bribe Both Nadine and Bob Menendez explained they are innocent and never took 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 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 At the time she was in danger of losing her home in Englewood Cliffs New Jersey after missing nearly in mortgage payments trial testimony presented A longtime friend Wael Hana provided cash to save the home and prosecutors noted that in return the senator began helping Hana preserve a business monopoly he had arranged with the Egyptian leadership to certify that imported meat met religious requirements