In her federal bribery trial, a jury found Nadine Menendez guilty, following the conviction of her husband, former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, for similar crimes.
Prosecutors claimed the two were “partners in crime” and accused them of accepting cash, gold bars, and a luxury car in exchange for political favours.
The defence claimed there was no evidence Nadine Menendez was involved in the scheme that her husband was found guilty of committing.
Jurors began deliberating Friday afternoon and reached their decision Monday afternoon.
She will be sentenced in June, the same month that her husband is scheduled to report to prison to begin serving his 11-year sentence.
She pleaded not guilty to 15 counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services fraud, and extortion under colour of official right. Several of the charges have a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison in January after being convicted on all 16 counts in his federal corruption trial last year, making him the first sitting member of Congress to be convicted of acting as a foreign agent.
A jury convicted him of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from three New Jersey businessmen, including gold, cash, a luxury convertible, mortgage payments for Nadine Menendez, and compensation for her no-show job.
“Nadine Menendez and Senator Menendez were partners in crime,” acting US Attorney Matthew Podolsky said in a statement following the corruption and foreign influence trial verdict. “Over the course of five years, Nadine Menendez agreed to and accepted a variety of bribes, including gold bars, cash, a Mercedes-Benz convertible, and a no-show job, all in exchange for the Senator’s corrupt official actions.
Together, Nadine Menendez and the Senator prioritised their own interests and greed over the interests of the citizens the Senator was elected to represent.”
“Today’s verdict sends the clear message that the power of government officials may not be put up for sale, and that all those who facilitate corruption will be held accountable for their actions,” he declared.
The FBI said it discovered $70,000 in cash in Nadine Menendez’s safe deposit box and the remainder in congressional jackets bearing Bob Menendez’s name.
According to federal prosecutors, Nadine Menendez introduced Egyptian intelligence and military officials to then-Sen. Bob Menendez shortly after the two began dating in 2018. They allege that these introductions helped establish a corrupt agreement in which they accepted bribes in exchange for her husband’s actions to benefit Egypt.
Jose Uribe, a New Jersey businessman who pleaded guilty last year and testified for the government, was among the witnesses at the trial. According to prosecutors, Uribe paid for Menendez’s $60,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible in exchange for assisting in the disruption of a criminal investigation into Uribe by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office.
Nadine Menendez was supposed to stand trial alongside her husband, but the judge allowed her to do so separately to accommodate her breast cancer diagnosis. Her trial was postponed several times while she was receiving treatment.
The trial was also postponed for a few days due to her illness.
On March 17, on the eve of jury selection in Nadine Menendez’s trial, the former senator wrote on X that his wife was “forced by the government to go to trial” despite having recently undergone reconstructive surgery for breast cancer.
“Only the arrogance of the SDNY can be so cruel and inhumane,” Bob Menendez wrote in the post, which referenced President Donald Trump. “They should let her fully recover.”
Following his sentencing, Bob Menendez described the prosecution as a “political witch hunt” and expressed his hope that Trump “cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity of the system.”
In imposing Bob Menendez’s sentence, Judge Sidney Stein stated that the former senator would not have to report to prison until June 6, allowing him to be present during his wife’s trial.
