Convicted Ex-N.J. Sen. Bob Menendez’s Wife Found Guilty On All Counts In Bribery Trial

Baila Eve ZismanApril 22, 2025, 5:28 pmNews >

On Monday, April 21, Nadine Menendez, the wife of former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) was convicted on all 15 counts of teaming up with her husband to accept bribes.

Nadine and Bob were accused of accepting bribes in the form of cash, gold bars and a luxury car from three New Jersey men who wanted help with their business dealings and legal problems.

Bob was convicted of the same charges last year and is set to begin serving his 11-year prison term in June. Nadine’s sentencing has been scheduled for June 12, just 6 days following Bob’s expected arrival in prison.

Last August, following his conviction, Bob, who had been chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, resigned from the Senate.

In 2022, FBI agents raided the couple’s home in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, and found $480,000 in cash and $150,000 in gold bars, along with a Mercedes-Benz in the garage. Menendez and Bob both insisted they were innocent and never accepted any bribes.

Prosecutors alleged that Nadine facilitated bribes to Bob ahead of their marriage in the fall of 2020, when she feared she might lose her home in New Jersey, following $20,000 in missed mortgage payments. A friend, Wael Hana, gave Menendez cash to save the house, and in trade, Bob provided Hana help preserving his business monopoly with the Egyptian government.

Prosecutors report that when Menendez needed a new car following an accident in which she struck and killed a pedestrian (for which she did not face charges), the businessman Jose Uribe gave her a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for Bob pressuring the New Jersey attorney general’s office to stop investigating Uribe’s associates.

Another businessman, a prominent real estate developer named Fred Daibes, paid the couple to protect him from a criminal case he faced in the state. Bob also allegedly assisted Daibes in procuring a $95 million investment from a Qatari investment fund.

Although the couple was initially supposed to be tried together, Nadine’s trial was postponed for a year when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and required surgery.

Nadine’s lawyer, Barry Coburn, argued in closing statements that she had received unfair treatment and the jury had insufficient evidence to substantiate their verdict, stating, “These things we’re talking about here are unproven.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Mathew Podolsky said, “Together, Nadine Menendez and the senator placed their own interests and greed ahead of the interests of the citizens the Senator was elected to serve…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.”