Now he cares about his wife!
Embattled New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, who blames his wife for her legal woes in an ongoing high-stakes bribery trial, rushed to his wife’s defense Friday after arriving at their Englewood Cliffs home. Ta.
“Don’t be such a vampire! She has cancer,” Menendez yelled at a Post reporter who came to greet him.
After driving home from court in his blue Honda Civic, Menendez entered the house carrying two white plastic bags and two notebooks.
It is unclear whether his wife, Nadine Arslanian, was inside.
Two days ago, Mr. Menendez’s lawyers argued in court that Paul had no knowledge of the gold hidden inside the couple’s home, and instead believed that Paul’s “dazzling tall” wife had hidden the gold without their knowledge. accused of having done so.
Mr. Menendez’s lawyer, Avi Weitzman, told jurors in Manhattan federal court that Ms. Arslanian had “sidelined” her husband. Her prosecutors allege that she robbed her husband of her gold bullion, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and a Mercedes convertible, and in return she gave him money to bring her profits to the Garden State Tri-State. said she used her influence. Businessmen and the governments of Qatar and Egypt.
“Where did you find the gold bars? [The] Gold bars were found in a locked closet. That’s Nadine’s closet,” Weitzman said in his opening statement, pulling out a photo of the closet and saying, “It was full of stuff.” [Nadine’s] clothes. “
“The senator didn’t know there was gold bullion there,” he said.
“[Nadine] I left Bob on the sidelines. Nadine had this relationship long before she met Bob. ”
When federal authorities searched the couple’s home in June 2022, they found 13 gold bars worth more than $150,000 and nearly $500,000 in cash, all of which were collected in 2018, when Bob and Nadine had just started dating. Prosecutors claimed that the attack was the “product” of a corruption scheme that began in 2017.
This is the second federal corruption and bribery trial the Garden State senator has faced in less than a decade, after he avoided a conviction in his previous criminal trial that ended in a hung jury in 2017. Become.
Menendez, who was released on $100,000 bail, is on trial along with co-defendants New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana and Fred Dives. Both defendants are said to have helped Paul reap the benefits of wealth and gifts.
Menendez denies all charges, and his co-defendants also maintain their innocence.
A third businessman involved in the alleged scheme, Mr. Uribe, has pleaded guilty and is cooperating with federal authorities.
Mr. Arslanian remains indicted on bribery charges even after pleading not guilty, and will face a separate trial.
