Ex-US senator’s wife convicted in gold bars bribery scheme

A New York jury has found the wife of a former New Jersey senator guilty for her role in a years-long bribery scheme that included stacks of cash, gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz.

Nadine Menendez, 58, was found guilty on all 15 counts, including bribery and obstruction of justice, for aiding her husband, ex-Sen Robert Menendez, who received lavish gifts in exchange for political favours.

She was indicted with her husband in September 2023 but had her trial delayed for breast cancer treatments.

A sentencing date for Menendez has been set for 12 June. Her husband was convicted in July 2024 and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

In a statement, the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York said the couple were “partners in crime” who participated in “corrupt official acts”.

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

During the trial, prosecutors argued that Menendez was an indispensable part of her husband’s bribery scheme, telling the jury it was she who often accepted the cash and other gifts on behalf of the former senator.

Her husband, at the time, was the top-ranking Democrat on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee for more than five years, a position that gave him significant influence over US foreign policy.

“She was keeping him in the loop every step of the way,” Paul M Monteleoni, a prosecutor, said in a closing argument, the New York Times reported.

Menendez’s lawyers said the government failed to prove a link between the gold and stacks of cash found in the couple’s home to any “official act” taken by her husband.

Her lawyer Barry Coburn said he was “devastated by the verdict”, standing outside the New York courthouse on Monday afternoon.

“We fought hard and it hurts,” Mr Coburn said. “This is a very rough day for us.”

Menendez and her husband were convicted of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to secretly aid the Egyptian government using the former senator’s perch in Washington, prosecutors had said.

The government backed up its claims with evidence from a 2022 FBI search at the couple’s New Jersey home that included over $100,000 (£80,000) worth of gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in envelopes or hidden in clothes.

They also showed digital evidence that included text messages between the couple and their associates, and a Google search by the former senator that said: “How much is one kilo of gold worth?”

Fred Daibes, a New Jersey property developer, and Wael Hana, the Egyptian-born operator of a halal certification company, were also charged and convicted for their roles.

Insurance broker Jose Uribe pleaded guilty in March 2024 to charges related to the corrupt scheme.