Nadine Menendez, wife of former powerful Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, was found guilty Monday on all 15 federal corruption charges against her, the end of one of the most significant corruption cases in United States history.
After approximately eight hours of deliberation over two days, the jury convicted the 58-year-old Englewood Cliffs resident of bribery, extortion, obstruction of justice, and conspiring to turn her husband into an agent of Egypt.
“The defendant helped Robert Menendez put his power up for grabs,” prosecutor Paul Monteleoni said in his closing statement. “You saw again and again a clear pattern of corruption.”
Federal prosecutors portrayed Nadine as a crucial “go-between” connecting her corrupt husband with businessmen who funneled them bribes from the Egyptian and Qatari governments. During the trial, evidence revealed that the couple received gold bars, cash, and a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for the senator’s political influence.
“What else can the love of my life do for you?” Nadine told an Egyptian official while sitting alongside her husband during a May 2019 dinner at Morton’s Steakhouse, according to evidence presented at trial.
In one particularly incriminating text message revealed during proceedings, Nadine wrote to her husband: “Congratulations mon amour de la vie, we are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes,” after receiving the first payment toward a new car from New Jersey insurance broker Jose Uribe.
FBI agents who raided the couple’s home found over $150,000 in gold bars stored inside Nadine’s safe and more than $400,000 in cash throughout the residence, much of it stuffed in the pockets of the Democratic leader’s official government windbreaker.
Bob Menendez, who served as chair of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, leveraged his position to approve multimillion-dollar weapons sales to Egypt, protect a halal meat certification monopoly, and intervene in criminal cases involving the businessmen who were bribing the couple. Last year, Menendez became the first public official ever convicted of acting as a foreign agent while in office.
The former senator was sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted in July and is scheduled to report to prison on June 6. Following his conviction, he resigned from the Senate, ending his long career as a Democratic leader in disgrace.
Since their arrests, their marriage has fallen apart. During Bob Menendez’s trial, his attorneys attempted to blame his wife, describing her as “dazzling” and claiming she hid financial challenges from him. They pointed out that the gold bars were found in Nadine’s locked closet.
Nadine’s defense took the opposite approach. Her attorney argued that the senator’s dealings with the businessmen were simply “a politician’s work for his constituents” and that the allegations were “unproven.” However, the jury was unconvinced.
The couple’s relationship began in early 2018, when she was known as Nadine Arslanian, and prosecutors alleged the bribery scheme started shortly afterward. They married in 2020.
Nadine was originally set to stand trial alongside her husband and three New Jersey businessmen — Wael Hana, Fred Daibes, and Jose Uribe — but her case was severed after she informed the court about her breast cancer diagnosis.
Hana and Daibes were also convicted and sentenced to eight and seven years in jail, respectively. Uribe pleaded guilty before the trial and cooperated with prosecutors by testifying against the others.
Outside the Manhattan federal courthouse, Nadine, wearing dark sunglasses and a pink mask, stood silently as her attorney addressed reporters. He vowed to appeal the conviction.
“We respect the judge and we respect the jury for its hard work,” Coburn said. “None the less, this is a very rough day for us. You know, there’s no doubt in my mind that the jury thinks what they found was right. There’s no point in me standing and debating that. But this is not over. There will be other days.”
Nadine faces sentencing on June 12, just six days after her husband begins his prison term. Legal experts predict she will likely receive a jail time sentence comparable to her husband’s 11-year term.