Last week the DOJ announced that an indictment was unsealed charging U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), his wife Nadine Menendez, and three New Jersey businessmen, Wael Hana, Jose Uribe, and Fred Daibes with participating in a years-long bribery scheme.
According to the DOJ release:
“Between 2018 and 2022, Menendez and Nadine Menendez agreed to and did accept hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of bribes from Hana, Daibes, and Uribe. These bribes included gold, cash, a luxury convertible, payments toward Nadine Menendez’s home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job for Nadine Menendez, home furnishings, and other things of value.”
As stated in the release:
“In June 2022, the FBI executed a search warrant at the New Jersey home of Menendez and Nadine Menendez. During that search, the FBI found many of the fruits of this bribery scheme, including cash, gold, the luxury convertible, and home furnishings. Over $480,000 in cash — much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe — was discovered in the home, as well as over $70,000 in cash in Nadine Menendez’s safe deposit box, which was also searched pursuant to a separate search warrant. Some of the envelopes contained the fingerprints and/or DNA of Daibes or his driver. Other of the envelopes were found inside jackets bearing Menendez’s name and hanging in his closet …”. During this same search, agents also found home furnishings provided by Hana and Daibes, the luxury vehicle paid for by Uribe parked in the garage, as well as over one hundred thousand dollars’ worth of gold bars in the home, which were provided by either Hana or Daibes.
In exchange for these and other things of value, Menendez agreed to use his power and influence as a Senator to seek to protect Hana, Uribe, and Daibes’s interests and to benefit the Government of Egypt. Through this corrupt relationship, Menendez agreed to take a series of official acts and breaches of his official duty. First, Menendez took actions to benefit the Government of Egypt and Hana, including by improperly pressuring an official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) to seek to protect a business monopoly granted to Hana by Egypt. Second, Menendez took actions seeking to disrupt a criminal investigation undertaken by the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General (“NJAG”) related to Uribe and his associates. Third, Menendez recommended that the President nominate a U.S. Attorney who Menendez believed he could influence with respect to Daibes and sought to disrupt a federal criminal prosecution undertaken by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey (“USAO-DNJ”) of Daibes.”
Menendez is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery; one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud; and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.
Nadine Menendez is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery; one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud; and one count of conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.
Hana, Uribe, and Daibes are all charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery; and one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud.
In the DOJ release, FBI Assistant Director in Charge James Smith stated:
“The FBI has made investigating public corruption a top priority since our founding — nothing has changed. The alleged conduct in this conspiracy damages the public’s faith in our system of government and brings undue scorn to the honest and dedicated public servants who carry out their duties on a daily basis. To those inclined to use the status of their public office for personal benefit, or those willing to provide bribes in an attempt to gain influence from a public official, the FBI will ensure that you face the consequences in the criminal justice system for your underhanded dealings.”
