Wife of former US Sen. Bob Menendez convicted in bribery scheme
NEW YORK AP 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 its verdict in the same federal courthouse in Manhattan where a different jury convicted Bob Menendez of various of the same charges last year The Democrat is supposed to begin serving an -year prison term in June 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 commented they were partners in crime During a raid on the couple s Englewood Cliffs New Jersey home FBI agents unveiled 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 revealed 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 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 exhibited 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 regime 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 moving across a street She did not face charges in the crash Prosecutors declared 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 inspecting specific of Uribe s associates Prosecutor disclosed more cash and gold bribes were paid to the couple by Fred Daibes a prominent real estate developer who prosecutors revealed yearned the senator to protect him from a criminal development he was facing in New Jersey Prosecutors noted Bob Menendez also helped Daibes secure a million capital from a Qatari financing fund Nadine Menendez was described by prosecutors at her trial as crucial to the scheme enabling the senator to communicate with the businessmen and Egyptian administration agents Besides his conviction on bribery charges Bob Menendez also was convicted of acting as an agent for the Egyptian ruling body Prosecutors commented that in return for particular of the bribes he ghostwrote a letter for Egyptian personnel to give to his fellow senators to calm their concerns about human rights abuses and encourage them to lift a hold on 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 stated He disclosed 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 Source
