Michael Mordaga: Ex-top cop helped Bob Menendez’s wife leave deadly car crash site without sobriety test
BOGOTA, NEW JERSEY: Michael Mordaga, the former director of Hackensack police and an ex-chief of detectives in the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, allegedly helped Bob Menendez's wife Nadine Arslanian leave the scene of her 2018 fatal car crash without a sobriety test or handing over her phone, the New York Post reported.
Arslanian allegedly slammed her black Mercedes into Richard Koop in Bogota, New Jersey, on December 12, 2018.
As per the publication, Mordaga arrived at the scene of the crash within minutes and allegedly helped Arslanian leave behind her damaged car and take her belongings from the vehicle after asking the patrolman dealing with the crash on his plan of action.
At the time of the incident, Arslanian was reportedly in a relationship with Douglas Anton, an attorney who later represented R Kelly, as well as dating Menendez, whom she married in 2020.
The latest claim comes on the heels of Arslanian and Menendez being charged in an alleged bribery case.
Prosecutors alleged that the couple received gold bars, a new Mercedes convertible and nearly $500,000 in cash at their home in return for the use of Menendez's influence to enrich three New Jersey businessmen and benefit the Egyptian government.
Both Arslanian and Menendez have denied the allegations.
What is known about Michael Mordaga?
Mordaga is a 66-year-old retired policeman, who previously served as the director of Hackensack police and is an ex-chief of detectives in the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.
The ex-top cop was recently accused of helping Arslanian to leave the scene of a 2018 fatal car crash without a sobriety test or handing over her phone.
According to the New York Post, Mordaga was accused of telling on Frank Lagano, a reputed member of the Lucchese crime family, which led to his execution in the parking lot of an East Brunswick diner he co-owned in 2007.
Mordaga denied all wrongdoing and the deceased man's family lost their federal lawsuit against the cop and Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office earlier this year.
However, the family have reportedly appealed the ruling. Mordaga also faced another federal complaint over allegations that he failed to intervene in a domestic violence incident involving two married police officers in 2015.
The officers, Sara Malvasia and Niles Malvasia, were from the Hackensack Police Department when Mordaga was still in charge of the force.
As per the New York Post, instead of arresting or disciplining the husband, Mordaga allegedly said, "There’s always female sh*t going on. That’s why women can’t be police officers."
The 2017 federal suit was later settled and the couple went on to win $1 million in a Powerball lottery in 2018, the publication noted.
What happened during Nadine Arslanian's alleged fatal car crash?
The fatal collision involving Arslanian reportedly happened on December 12, 2018, leading to the death of 49-year-old Koop.
As per the New York Post, allegations about Arslanian’s role in Koop's death only emerged on Wednesday, October 4, after Bogota Police Department released dashcam footage and other records to NorthJersey.com.
Arslanian reportedly told cops she did not see Koop. However, she was allegedly driving her car fast enough that the crash flung Koop’s body to the curb just steps from his own house on East Main Street in Bogota before crashing into a parked car.
Dashcam footage and 911 recordings do not show Arslanian asking after the victim but shows her refusing to have her phone searched.
The clips also suggest also she did not call 911 until officers were already on the scene and allegedly told them the wrong location for the crash.
A witness claimed that she told cops she was going to call someone for help, the outlet claimed.
Sheri Breen, an attorney for Koop’s estate, told the publication that separate footage from a business showed that Arslanian "moved her car around his body as he was lying in the road and she did not come to his aid or to even check on him."
Records also revealed that Arslanian was not the first person to call 911 after the crash because the dispatcher told her an officer was already on the scene.
She allegedly told the dispatcher she was in "Teaneck," which borders on Bogota. Koop was reportedly struck in front of 155 E Main Street in Bogota, an address that is next door, just to the west, 311 DeGraw Avenue in Teaneck.
How was Michael Mordaga linked to Nadine Arslanian's car crash scene?
A dashcam video recorded after Arslanian's car crash showed her standing on the road while shivering in a fur coat and short dress.
Arslanian initially agreed to allow cops to search her phone but then said she wanted an attorney because "I don’t want to say anything wrong."
"Why was the guy standing in the middle of the road? I didn’t do anything wrong," she allegedly said in the video.
Arslanian later told the patrolman, "He jumped on my windshield." The footage did not show her asking about the victim’s condition but she could reportedly be heard asking to get something that an officer said had gone "in the ambulance."
Shortly after, the dashcam showed someone off-camera being asked, "You’re retired, you said?" to which he replied, "Yes" and said was retired from "Hackensack."
That person was identified by the New York Post as Mordaga. In the video, the ex-top cop's voice could be heard saying, "I don’t even know her. That’s my buddy’s wife who’s friends with her."
"He said could you do me a favor and take her up there because her friend just got in a car accident," Mordaga allegedly said in a video.
The "buddy’s wife" seemingly turned out to be an unnamed friend who helped Arslanian take her possessions from the car, the publication reported.
Mordaga could also be heard on the video asking, "Are you guys getting a statement that you’re going to give to the prosecutor’s office?"
He was then told by the patrolman, "I don’t believe so, as of right now. She’s good to grab her stuff from her car."
Mordaga was also reportedly given the details of the investigation and was told the victim was "walking in the middle of the road, that’s what we’re gathering."
"I believe we’re good to release her, as soon as she grabs her stuff from her car," the Bogota police officer seen on the video could be heard saying.
While Arslanian left without a summons, Sergio Uribe, who owned the parked car Arslanian hit, told the New York Times that he heard her tell cops she was going to call someone.
"I remember saying, 'That woman is just allowed to leave? She’s not being arrested or anything?'"
Arslanian's involvement in the fatal collision led to part of the bribery and corruption charges brought against her and Menendez, the New York Post mentioned.
As per the outlet, Arslanian texted Wael Hana, an Egyptian American businessman who is also indicted in the bribery scheme, a month after the crash.
Prosecutors alleged that she reportedly told him about the loss of her car and the same man later provided her with a 2019 Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible, worth $60,000.