Gold Bars and a Luxury Car: Sen. Bob Menendez Charged With Taking Bribes

Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife were indicted Friday in a sweeping bribery scheme, with federal prosecutors alleging the New Jersey Democrat accepted cash, gold and other benefits in exchange for using his office to enrich three businessmen and aid the Egyptian government.

The charges, brought by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, mark the second time New Jersey’s senior senator has faced public corruption allegations. An earlier criminal case eight years ago fell apart.

In a 39-page indictment, prosecutors alleged that Menendez, who has served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his wife, Nadine Menendez, received bribes starting in 2018 from the businessmen in exchange for favors, including attempting to help influence the outcome of criminal cases and aiding Cairo in efforts to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid. During a search of Menendez’s home in June 2022, investigators discovered over $480,000 in cash—much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in a safe, closets and clothing, including a jacket emblazoned with the Senate logo, according to the indictment. Over $70,000 was found in his wife’s safe-deposit box, prosecutors said. Some of the envelopes contained the fingerprints or DNA of one of Menendez’s co-defendants, New Jersey developer Fred Daibes, or the businessman’s driver.

Federal agents also found gold bars, home furnishings and a Mercedes-Benz convertible worth more than $60,000 that the senator and his wife received as part of the scheme, prosecutors said. Some of the gold bars had serial numbers that indicated Daibes previously possessed them, and the senator at one point performed a Google search to find out how much one kilo of gold was worth, according to the indictment. Menendez and his wife were charged with three criminal counts: conspiracy to commit bribery, honest-services fraud and extortion. Daibes and two other businessmen, Wael Hana and Jose Uribe, were charged with two counts. The five defendants are expected to make their initial appearance in court on Wednesday.

The senator in a written statement said he was the victim of “an active smear campaign of anonymous sources and innuendos to create an air of impropriety where none exists.”

“The excesses of these prosecutors is apparent,” Menendez said. “They have misrepresented the normal work of a congressional office. On top of that, not content with making false claims against me, they have attacked my wife for the longstanding friendships she had before she and I even met.”

A lawyer for the senator’s wife said, “Mrs. Menendez denies any criminal conduct and will vigorously contest these charges in court.”