Nadine Menendez, 58, responsible of bribery and fraud associated to utilizing her husband’s affect on behalf of Egypt.
Nadine Menendez, the spouse of former United States Senator Bob Menendez, has been convicted of accepting tons of of 1000’s of {dollars} value of bribes in alternate for trying to make use of her husband’s affect to profit Egyptian officers and New Jersey businessmen.
Nadine Menendez, 58, was discovered responsible on Monday of all 15 counts she confronted, together with bribery, sincere companies wire fraud and conspiracy for a public official to behave as a international agent. She shall be sentenced by US District Choose Sidney Stein in Manhattan on June 12.
The conviction comes after Bob Menendez, a Democrat who represented New Jersey for 18 and a half years, was sentenced in January to 11 years in jail.
“Nadine Menendez and Senator Menendez had been companions in crime,” appearing Manhattan US Legal professional Matthew Podolsky mentioned in a press release on Monday after the decision.
“Collectively, Nadine Menendez and the Senator positioned their very own pursuits and greed forward of the pursuits of the residents the Senator was elected to serve.”
Outdoors the courtroom, Menendez, who had pleaded not responsible, wore a pink masks as she stood subsequent to her lawyer, Barry Coburn, who mentioned he was “devastated by the decision”.
“We fought onerous and it hurts,” he mentioned. “This can be a very tough day for us.”
US Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, and his spouse, Nadine Menendez, arrive at a federal courtroom for a listening to on bribery fees in New York Metropolis (File: Brendan McDermid/Reuters)
The once-powerful chairman of the Senate Committee on Overseas Relations, Bob Menendez was convicted at trial final July on fees associated to efforts to hurry Egypt’s entry to US navy assist, in addition to interfering in native prosecutions of businessmen, in alternate for bribes together with gold, money and a Mercedes-Benz.
Bob Menendez, 71, resigned from the Senate the next month.
The proof proven to jurors over a three-week trial adopted the timeline of the whirlwind romance between the couple that started in early 2018 and continued after legal fees had been introduced in opposition to them in September 2023.
Nadine Menendez was to be tried together with her husband for her alleged position in his scheme, however her trial was postponed after her attorneys mentioned she wanted remedy for breast most cancers.
Prosecutors mentioned New Jersey businessman Wael Hana organized conferences between the senator and Egyptian officers, who pressed him to log off on navy assist.
In return, the businessman put Nadine Menendez on the payroll of an organization he managed, prosecutors mentioned.
Prosecutors additionally mentioned Hana and Nadine Menendez communicated requests and directives from Egyptian officers to the senator.
Hana was convicted together with Bob Menendez and sentenced to only greater than eight years in jail.
One other defendant, businessman Fred Daibes, was additionally convicted and acquired a seven-year jail sentence. Prosecutors mentioned Daibes needed the senator to guard him from a legal case he was dealing with in New Jersey.
The couple additionally acquired a Mercedes-Benz from businessman Jose Uribe in return for Bob Menendez utilizing his clout to strain the New Jersey lawyer common’s workplace to cease investigating a few of Uribe’s associates, prosecutors mentioned.
Menendez was the primary US senator within the nation’s historical past to be discovered responsible of appearing as a international agent.
