Who is Bob Menendez's wife? Court docs claim senator googled 'how much is one kilo of gold worth' as bribery scandal explodes
UNION CITY, NEW JERSEY: Democratic Senator Bob Menendez and his wife of three years, Nadine Arslanian, were recently charged with in a bribery case.
They allegedly accepted "hundreds of thousands of dollars" in return for the use of the former's influence to enrich three New Jersey businessmen and benefit the Egyptian government, as per NBC News.
According to an indictment released on Friday, September 22, Menendez and his wife are allegedly facing three criminal counts each for their role in the alleged bribery scheme.
The criminal indictment also stated that Menendez allegedly googled 'How much is one kilo of gold worth?' numerous times after arriving home from a trip to Egypt in October 2021.
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Bob Menendez married Nadine Arslanian in 'socially distanced' ceremony
According to a 2020 interview with The Armenian Report, Arslanian was reportedly born in Beirut, Lebanon, to Armenian parents.
The family reportedly fled to Greece, then to London, before moving to the United States during the Lebanese civil war.
In the interview, Arslanian shared that she first lived in Palo Alto, California, before moving to New York.
Arslanian majored in International politics and French Culture and Civilization and earned her Bachelor’s degree and a graduate degree from New York University.
As per NJ True Jersey, Arslanian is reportedly the president of Strategic International Business Consultants, a holding company that incorporated in New Jersey in 2019.
She has previously worked in sales and marketing for Fusion Diagnostics Laboratories and served on the Hackensack Meridian Children’s Advisory Committee.
Arslanian allegedly met Menendez in December 2018 over pancakes at an IHOP in Union City, where the latter previously served as mayor.
She told The New York Times that the owner of the IHOP introduced her to Menendez and she was not aware that the latter was a US senator at the time.
Arslanian and Menendez dated for 10 months before the latter proposed to his future wife during a trip to India.
Menendez serenaded her with a song from 'The Greatest Showman' while Arslanian was sitting on the "Princess Diana" bench at the Taj Mahal during the proposal.
The couple tied the knot in a socially distanced outdoor ceremony surrounded by a small group family and friends during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Arslanian was previously married and has two children from a previous relationship, a daughter, who reportedly graduated from NYU, and a son who attends Northeastern University.
When did Bob Menendez google 'worth of one kilo gold'?
According to an indictment obtained by the Daily Mail, Menendez allegedly googled the worth of one kilo gold after returning home from a trip to Egypt in October 2021.
The document also revealed that Menendez had googled the price of gold another time, shortly after his wife thanked New Jersey businessman and longtime Menendez associate Fred Daibes, for "Christmas in January."
Daibes was one of the three individuals named in the indictment who were involved in paying "hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes" to Menendez in exchange for his power to secretly benefit the Egyptian government.
When officials conducted a court-authorized search of the Menendez and his wife's home in June 2022, they allegedly found multiple gold bars from the address.
As per the Daily Mail, the gold bars were part of the bribes the couple are accused of accepting.
What are the accusations against Bob Menendez and Nadine Arslanian?
On Friday, September 22, Menendez and Arslanian were accused of alleged corruption and bribery, involving $400,000 in gold bars and cash, purchase of a luxury car, and payments toward a home mortgage, the publication reported.
The legal document alleged that the couple had improper relationships with three New Jersey businessmen, namely Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes, who paid the couple "hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes" in exchange for Menendez using his senator's influence to their benefit.
Prosecutors have also accused Menendez of seeking to influence an ongoing federal prosecution of Daibes.
Menendez and Arslanian are each charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.
The US senator is also facing charges of providing "sensitive US Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt."
Damian Williams, attorney with Southern District of New York, outlined the charges and evidence against the pair and claimed that the couple used Menendez's "power and influence to protect and enrich the businessmen and benefit the government of Egypt."
He also mentioned that investigators "executed a search warrant and discovered over $500,000 worth of cash stuffed into envelopes and the senator's jackets."
"That is not all. Agents discovered a lot of gold," Williams added.
The indictment said that the investigation also explored other bribes allegedly paid to the couple. "Those bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value," the document read.
A June 2022 raid on the couple's New Jersey home found "over $480,000 in cash - much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe," the indictment alleged.
It further added that Arslanian allegedly had over $70,000 in a safe deposit box and mentioned that officials also found two one-kilogram gold bars and eleven one-ounce gold bars during the search.
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The indictment claimed that Menendez and his wife sold hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gold bars despite having faced foreclosure just three years earlier.
It also alleged that Arslanian cashed in up to $400,000 worth of gold last spring in a sale that occurred just months before a federal investigation into Menendez was announced in public.
"Multiple gold bars provided by Daibes were found during the court-authorized June 2022 search of the couple's home," the indictment added.
It also said the senator performed a web search for "how much is one kilo of gold worth" and that the envelopes of cash found during the search had the fingerprints of Daibes and his driver.
The indictment also claimed that Menendez "promised to and did use his influence and power" to pressure President Joe Biden to nominate a US Attorney for the District of New Jersey who Menendez "believed could be influenced by Menendez with respect to the federal criminal prosecution of Fred Daibes."
Menendez recommended and Biden later nominated Phillip Sellinger as US Attorney for New Jersey, the top federal prosecutor in the state, the Daily Mail noted.
Bob Menendez and Nadine Arslanian deny allegations
Following the indictment, Menendez denied any wrongdoing in a statement issued on September 22. "Those behind this campaign simply cannot accept that a first generation Latin American from humble beginnings could rise to be a US senator," he said.
"I have been falsely accused before because I refused to back down to the powers that be and the people of New Jersey were able to see through the smoke and mirrors and recognize I was innocent," Menendez mentioned.
The senator added that he would not be "distracted by baseless allegations" and continue his work. Meanwhile, Arslanian's lawyer, David Schertler, also said that she "denies any criminal conduct and will vigorously contest these charges in court."