The wife of Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., hit and killed a man with her car in 2018, a new report revealed. According to federal investigators,
And questions remain about the investigation into the fatal accident.
Nadine Arslanian Menendez, who has been indicted with her husband on numerous bribery charges, fatally struck a man while driving her Mercedes-Benz in Bogota, New Jersey in December 2018.
Arslanian, who had been dating Menendez for 10 months at the time, was not charged by police in the incident.
According to NorthJersey.com —
A month after the crash, according to an indictment brought by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Arslanian was texting Wael Hana, an Egyptian American businessman also indicted in the bribery scheme, about her lack of car. Hana later provided her with a 2019 Mercedez-Benz C-300 convertible, the indictment says.
Registration records show that the 2019 Mercedes was purchased in March of that year. When reached by phone Tuesday night, attorney David Schertler, who is representing Arslanian in her federal case, had no comment on the crash.
After the car was bought, Arslanian texted Menendez, “Congratulations mon amour de la vie, we are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes,” with a heart emoji.
The man she killed, 49-year-old Richard Koop, was fatally struck in front of his house while trying to cross the road at 7:30 p.m. The police report at the time said Koop had been jaywalking.
He suffered “severe head trauma, bleeding from the back of his head, bleeding from the face and possible fractured legs and arms,” according to the Bogota police report. Koop was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
There are numerous questions about the investigation into Koop’s death. According to a report, Arslanian was permitted to leave the scene without being tested for intoxication.
And a dashcam video from the night shows a man, who identified himself as a retired police officer from a nearby town, join Arslanian at the scene and speak on her behalf to local law enforcement.
Koop’s family told The New York Times they felt unhappy with the “one-sided” investigation
“The family really has had serious concerns over what we felt was a very sparse, one-sided investigation,” Koop’s sister, Rosemarie Koop-Angelicola, told the Times. “Definitely a lack of legal enthusiasm to take this case, definite lack of media coverage, and a lack of communication by the authorities of Bergen County.”
“We felt that the whole thing was very silently swept under the rug,” she said.
Menendez addressed the fatal crash on Wednesday.
“That was a tragic accident,” the indicted Democratic leader said. “Obviously, we think of the family.”
The Horn editorial team