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New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, were slapped with federal bribery charges on Sept. 22, 2023.

It’s the Democratic senator’s second time facing federal corruption charges. The prior criminal case ended with a hung jury in 2017.

Menendez, 69, is accused of using his powerful position to advance Egyptian interests and do favors for NJ businessmen in exchange for more than $150,000 in gold bars.

The embattled politician was released on a modest $100,000 personal bond, and is allowed to travel outside the country while the case is pending, but only for official government purposes.

Nadine, 56, was also ordered released after posting a $250,000 personal recognizance bond.

They have both since pleaded not guilty, and Menendez has repeatedly said he will not resign.

His trial is set to begin May 6, 2024.

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What to know about the Bob Menendez bribery case:

Ex-top cop helped Bob Menendez’s wife leave deadly car crash without sobriety test or handing over phone — Exclusive

By Isabel Vincent

A retired top policeman helped Robert Menendez‘s wife-to-be leave the scene of her fatal car crash without a sobriety test or handing over her phone.

The Post has learned that Michael Mordaga, the former director of Hackensack police and an ex-chief of detectives in the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, was on the scene within minutes when Nadine Arslanian slammed her black Mercedes into Richard Koop in Bogota, NJ, in December 2018.

Mordaga, 66, helped her leave behind the totaled car and take her belongings from it after quizzing the patrolman dealing with the crash on what he planned to do.

Nadine Arslanian on dashcam
The dashcam footage showed Arslanian declining to let cops search her phone. She was never given a sobriety test. Bogota Police Department
How Nadine Arslanian's Mercedes was totaled
Nadine Arslanian's black Mercedes was smashed up after she hit and killed a pedestrian in 2018. Law Offices Rosemarie Arnold
Richard Koop.
Richard Koop, the victim, left behind a son, now 16, and an adult daughter. Facebook

Dashcam footage and 911 recordings do not show Arslanian asking after the victim, but they do show her refusing to have her cellphone searched and also suggest she did not call 911 until officers were already on the scene — then told them the wrong location for the crash.

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Bob Menendez allegedly took Mercedes bribe after wife-to-be killed man in 2018 car crash: reports

By Steve Janoski

Indicted New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez — accused of agreeing to meddle in a criminal probe in exchange for a new Mercedes-Benz — allegedly took the bribe after his soon-to-be wife killed a man during a traffic accident that left her car too banged up to drive.

Nadine Arslanian Menendez, 56, was the veteran Democrat’s on-again, off-again lover back when she slammed into Richard Koop, 49, as he crossed a road in Bogota, New Jersey at about 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2018, according to reports on Wednesday.

still photo from police video showing nadine and a cop as she says "i didnt do anything qrong"
Menendez allegedly took the bribe after his soon-to-be wife killed a man during a 2018 traffic accident that left her car too banged up to drive. Bogota Police Department
photo of black mercedes with shattered windshield
Menendez’s future wife told cops she didn’t see the pedestrian — but she was driving her black Mercedes fast enough that the collision flung his mangled body to the curb, just steps from his own house. Law Offices Rosemarie Arnold

Local cops questioned Arslanian briefly, then cut her loose when they figured she was “not at fault,” reported The New York Times.

Menendez’s future wife told cops she didn’t see Koop — but she was driving her black Mercedes fast enough that the collision flung his mangled body to the curb, just steps from his own house.

Koop died almost instantly, the Times said. When his ex-wife went to identify his corpse, she could barely recognize him.

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New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez trial date set for May in bribery case

By Kyle Schnitzer

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s trial on charges he pocketed bribes – including cash and $150,000 in gold bars – will begin on May 6, a federal judge ruled Monday.

Judge Sidney Stein, during a hearing in Manhattan federal court, urged prosecutors to get the ball rolling on the high-profile corruption case, which accuses Menendez and his wife of trading favors to help three New Jersey businessmen and the government of Egypt.

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez
Menendez’s trial on charges he pocketed bribes – including cash and $150,000 in gold bars – will begin on May 6. AP
The Manhattan federal court judge urged prosecutors to get the ball rolling on the high-profile corruption case. John Nacion/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

Prosecutor Paul Monteleoni said the pretrial “discovery” process has been delayed because some of it involved classified information, and said the evidence – described as “quite voluminous” – could take several more weeks to get through.

Stein said that the defense will have to submit all of its evidence by Dec. 4.

“I’m certainly going to try to hold to the dates,” the judge said.

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Bob Menendez’s love triangle: Party-loving wife two-timed it with R. Kelly’s lawyer — Exclusive

By Isabel Vincent

Bob Menendez’s wife partied with Mob Wives and Real Housewives, then two-timed her attorney boyfriend to become the senator’s lover, The Post can reveal.

And during their tumultuous courtship, the New Jersey Democrat sent Capitol Police officers to his love rival’s office to “bully him out of the picture,” a friend of the attorney — who represented R. Kelly during his sex-trafficking trial — told The Post. 

Nadine Arslanian Menendez is facing up to 45 years in prison, accused of conspiring with her husband to commit fraud, bribery and extortion by selling the power of his office to the Egyptian government and three businessmen in exchange for a convertible Mercedes, gold bars and cash he stashed in his jackets.

Nadine Arslanian with Jacqueline Laurita and Kim D from "Real Housewives of New Jersey."
Nadine Arslanian with Jacqueline Laurita and Kim D from "Real Housewives of New Jersey." Nadine Arslanian/Facebook
Bob Menendez and Nadine Arslanian arrive at court.
Marriage to a senator should have been the culmination of an American dream for Arslanian, who was born in Beirut, Lebanon, in a wealthy Armenian household. AFP via Getty Images
Doug Anton, Nadine Arslanian
Doug Anton was an attorney for R. Kelly during his racketeering and child trafficking trial in 2022, where the singer was sentenced to 30 years in prison. New York Post

She and Menendez pleaded not guilty in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday, with Arslanian bringing a $2,300 quilted Chanel bag for their first joint court appearance.

“I’m just heartsick about her,” said a woman who identified herself as a close relative. “I’ve been crying all day. She is an upstanding person. Nothing in her life prepared her for this.”

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Menendez tells colleagues he won't resign day after bribery arraignment

By Samuel Chamberlain

Sen. Bob Menendez has left a closed-door meeting of Senate Democrats within the last few minutes, at which he defended himself from corruption charges and vowed he would not resign.

Sen. Bob Menendez leaves a closed Democratic caucus meeting Thursday
Sen. Bob Menendez leaves a closed Democratic caucus meeting Thursday, a day after he and his wife were arraigned on corruption charges. Getty Images

"I will continue to cast votes on behalf of the people of New Jersey as I have for 18 years," Menendez told reporters as he left, according to Fox News.

More than two dozen Senate Democrats have called for Menendez to step down, as has New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. One who has not made such a public call is Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

Menendez’s wife totes pricey Chanel purse to NYC court as couple pleads not guilty to pocketing bribes

By Ben Kochman and Emily Crane

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s wife toted a pricey Chanel purse to Manhattan federal court Wednesday as she and her embattled husband pleaded not guilty to pocketing bribes — including cash and $100,000 in gold bars.

The veteran Democrat, 69, and his 56-year-old wife, Nadine, strolled out of the Lower Manhattan courthouse following their brief first hearing in the sweeping corruption case — with Menendez’s spouse getting slapped with stricter bail conditions.

Bob Menendez and wife Nadine
Sen. Bob Menendez, 69, and his wife, Nadine, 56, enter Manhattan federal court Wednesday for their arraignment on bribery charges. REUTERS

Facing mounting calls from fellow Dems to resign, Menendez, wearing a dark pinstriped suit, sat with his hands tightly clasped in his lap as he was ordered released on a $100,000 bond.

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Menendez ignores questions as he leaves court

By Melissa Koenig and Kyle Schnitzer

Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine have left the Manhattan courthouse.

The Democratic senator ignored reporters' questions as he made his way to his car.

Menendez ordered to turn over passport

By Melissa Koenig

Sen. Bob Menendez was required to turn over his personal passport under the conditions of his release on bond Wednesday, according to The Hill.

In this courtroom sketch, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, of New Jersey, left, and his wife Nadine Menendez, right, flank his lawyers in Federal Court, in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023.
In this courtroom sketch, Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, of New Jersey, left, and his wife Nadine Menendez, right, flank his lawyers in Federal Court, in New York, Wednesday, Sept. 27, 2023. AP

He was, however, allowed to keep his official passport to travel abroad while conducting business as a member of Congress, according to the reports by CNN, the Associated Press and Reuters.

More Dems call on Menendez to resign, say if he doesn't he should be investigated by Ethics Committee

By Melissa Koenig

Washington State senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell have joined the growing chorus of Democrats calling on New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez to resign.

Murray, the president pro tempore of the Senate, called the charges against Menendez "extremely serious” and “deeply disturbing" in a statement Wednesday morning.

Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., arrives for votes as Congress returns to work in crisis mode with only a few days to go before a government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., arrives for votes as Congress returns to work in crisis mode with only a few days to go before a government shutdown, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023. AP
Maria Cantwell is now calling for Menendez's resignation.
Maria Cantwell is now calling for Menendez's resignation. AP

She said that while the senator has a right to defend himself, "I believe he should step down and focus on his legal defense."

If he refuses, she said, “I encourage the Senate Ethics Committee to open an investigation into this, separate from the ongoing criminal case."

Cantwell, meanwhile, called the federal indictment “shocking and disturbing” and said that while everyone deserves their day in court, “I don’t believe anyone under such a damning indictment can effectively serve, and I urge Senator Menendez to step aside.”

Nadine Menendez totes Chanel bag estimated to be worth thousands in court

By Melissa Koenig
092723 Senator Bob Menendez arrives at NYC Federal Court with wife and attorneys. 500 Pearl St., NYC. (nypostinhouse) Photo by Matthew McDermott
Sen. Menendez's wife, Nadine, carried a pricey Chanel bag as she headed into court. Matthew McDermott

The wife of New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez was seen carrying a quilted Chanel bag as she appeared in court Wednesday to face bribery charges.

Similar styles have sold on the resale market for several hundred dollars, with some like the black zip tote fetching as much as $2,300.

Nadine is accused of helping collect and hide hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of bribes.

As she sat in court to face the charges, her Chanel bag could be seen sitting next to her.

Businessmen charged with Menendez also released on bond

By Melissa Koenig and Ben Kochman

The two New Jersey businessmen charged alongside the Menendezes were both released on bond Wednesday.

Jose Uribe was ordered released after posting a $1 million personal recognizance bond secured with his New Jersey home, while Fred Daibes was ordered released after posting a $2 million bond secured by a commercial property he owns in New York.

The two men both entered a plea of not guilty.

After the hearing ended, Bob Menendez could be seen holding his wife's hand while the pair chatted with their lawyers. They are expected to leave the courthouse in a few minutes.

Menendez, wife released on bond

By Melissa Koenig and Ben Kochman
 Senator Bob Menendez arrives at NYC Federal Court with wife and attorneys. 500 Pearl St., NYC.
Menendez and his wife, who arrived to court sporting a Chanel bag, were released on bond after entering not guilty pleas. Matthew McDermott

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez will be released on a relatively modest $100,000 personal recognizance bond, the magistrate judge ruled.

Magistrate Judge Ona Wang said he will be allowed to travel outside the country while the case is pending but only for official government purposes.

His wife, Nadine, meanwhile -- whose posh Chanel bag sat next to her chair during the brief hearing -- was also ordered released after posting a $250,000 personal recognizance bond.

Nadine has also agreed to secure that bond with the couple's personal residence in Englewood Cliffs, NJ.

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