Wife of Former US Senator Menendez Found Guilty of Bribery Scheme Using Foreign Influence, Cash, and Gold

Former Senator Robert Menendez’s wife was found guilty of supporting a bribery plot including extravagant gifts and political favors.

The wife of a former senator from New Jersey was convicted by a jury in New York for her involvement in a multi-year bribery conspiracy that involved a Mercedes-Benz, gold bars, and piles of cash.

In order to help her husband, former Sen. Robert Menendez, who got expensive gifts in return for political favors, Nadine Menendez, 58, was found guilty on all 15 counts, including bribery and obstruction of justice.

Her trial for breast cancer treatments was postponed despite the fact that she and her spouse were accused in September 2023.

Menendez’s sentencing date has been set on June 12. The US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York said in a statement that her husband was found guilty in July 2024 and given an 11-year sentence, calling the couple “partners in crime” who engaged in “corrupt official acts.”

The statement read, “Today’s verdict sends the clear message that government officials’ power may not be put up for sale.”

Prosecutors told the jury throughout the trial that Menendez was a key player in her husband’s bribery scheme and that she frequently took gifts and money on the former senator’s behalf.

For more than five years, her husband served as the top-ranking Democrat on the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which allowed him considerable influence over US foreign policy.

During a closing statement, prosecutor Paul M. Monteleoni stated, “She was keeping him in the loop every step of the way,” according to the New York Times.

According to Menendez’s attorneys, the government was unable to establish a connection between the gold and cash seized in the couple’s house and any “official act” her husband may have committed.

Barry Coburn, her attorney, stood outside the New York courthouse on Monday afternoon and expressed his “devastation by the verdict.”

“It hurts, and we fought hard,” Mr. Coburn remarked. “We are having a very difficult day.”

According to prosecutors, Menendez and her husband were found guilty of taking part in a complex plot to covertly support the Egyptian government by taking advantage of the former senator’s position in Washington.

Evidence from a 2022 FBI search of the couple’s New Jersey home, which turned up hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash concealed in clothing or envelopes, and more than $100,000 (£80,000) worth of gold bars, supported the government’s allegations.

The couple’s text communications with their colleagues and the former senator’s Google search for “How much is one kilogram of gold worth?” were also displayed as digital evidence.

Wael Hana, an Egyptian-born owner of a halal certification business, and Fred Daibes, a real estate developer in New Jersey, were also accused and found guilty for their involvement.

In March 2024, Jose Uribe, an insurance broker, entered a guilty plea to charges pertaining to the corrupt scheme.