Partners in crime: Pro-Armenian senator's wife stands trial in high-stakes bribery case “She did the dirty work”, the prosecutor says

The Dayton Daily News has spotlighted the high-profile trial of Nadine Arslanian Menendez, wife of former U.S. Senator and pro-Armenian politician Bob Menendez, who was convicted last year in a corruption scandal involving cash and gold bribes. As courtroom drama unfolds, lawyers have now delivered their opening statements, setting the stage for yet another chapter in this gripping legal saga. Caliber.Az brings the details to its readers.

Nadine Menendez and her husband, disgraced former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, who is set to begin an 11-year prison sentence, were "partners in crime," a prosecutor told jurors on March 24 as opening statements commenced in her trial over allegations that the couple accepted bribes in the form of cash and gold bars.

The longtime senator was convicted last year of taking bribes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from three New Jersey businessmen. Now, much of the same evidence will be presented before a new jury, this time focusing on 58-year-old Nadine Menendez, whose trial was delayed due to a breast cancer diagnosis.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Pomerantz told the court that Nadine Menendez “did the dirty work” for her husband, a 71-year-old New Jersey Democrat, during the bribery scheme.

Defense attorney Barry Coburn, however, countered that the government’s case is built on weak foundations, arguing that the jury would ultimately have to exonerate Nadine Menendez because there would be an “absolute, utter failure of proof in this case.”

The government’s portrayal of Nadine Menendez was “grossly inaccurate,” Coburn said, further calling the prosecution’s description of the evidence “nefarious.”

Nadine Menendez has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Born in Lebanon to an Armenian family, she began dating the senator in early 2018, during which, prosecutors allege, she became involved in the bribery scheme, including dealings with at least one businessman she had known separately from her future husband.

The couple’s relationship began at an IHOP in Union City, New Jersey, when she was still Nadine Arslanian. They became engaged in October 2019 during a trip to India's Taj Mahal and married a year later.

According to Pomerantz, Nadine Menendez “worked together with her boyfriend and then husband Robert Menendez to put his power up for sale.” She emphasized that the senator’s influence as a key member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee made this possible.

“This was not politics as usual. This was politics for profit,” Pomerantz stated. “They were on the take.”

Pomerantz outlined how the couple allegedly received bribes in exchange for favors, including the senator’s intervention to help businessman Wael Hana, a longtime friend of Nadine Menendez, secure a monopoly on inspecting meat exports to Egypt. The arrangement led to Bob Menendez’s conviction for acting as a foreign agent for Egypt.

Prosecutors claim that from 2018 to 2022, Hana and the Menendezes met repeatedly with Egyptian officials, with the senator secretly passing sensitive non-public information to Egyptian authorities via his wife.

Pomerantz further stated that Nadine Menendez facilitated a covert effort by her husband to draft a letter encouraging other senators to support U.S. aid to Egypt despite concerns about the country’s human rights record.

Hana and New Jersey real estate developer Fred Daibes were both convicted last year, receiving sentences of eight and seven years, respectively. A third businessman, who pleaded guilty, is expected to testify against Nadine Menendez, just as he did against her husband.

Bob Menendez resigned from the Senate following his conviction.

Throughout his two-month trial, Nadine Menendez was repeatedly mentioned in connection with extensive text communications with the businessmen. One of them testified that he bought her a luxury car after the senator tried to influence New Jersey prosecutors to drop a criminal case involving one of his associates.

On March 24, the first witness, FBI Agent Aristotelis Kougemitros, described a 2022 raid on the Menendez home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, where investigators discovered more than $100,000 in gold bars and over $480,000 in cash hidden in a safe, shoe boxes, and even stuffed into coat pockets and boots.

In the garage, authorities also found a $60,000 black Mercedes-Benz convertible.

During her opening statement, Pomerantz said the luxury vehicle, paid for with a $15,000 down payment and monthly installments from the businessmen involved in the bribery scheme, was something Nadine Menendez actively sought.

“She didn't want just any old car. She wanted a brand new Mercedes convertible,” Pomerantz said.

Bob Menendez previously testified that the gold belonged to his wife, while the cash was the result of his lifelong habit of hoarding money—a practice he claimed stemmed from his parents' escape from Cuba in 1951, when they left with nothing but the money they had hidden in a grandfather clock.