Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez’s wife ‘did the dirty work,’ prosecutor says at start of bribery trial

At former Sen. Bob Menendez’s corruption trial last year, his defense team cast him as an unwitting pawn in a global bribery scheme orchestrated by his wife, Nadine, that netted the couple nearly $1 million in gold bars, cash, and other valuables.

Her defense attorney, Barry Coburn, took a similar approach Monday as Nadine Menendez’s corruption trial kicked off at the federal courthouse in Manhattan, telling jurors during a 10-minute opening statement that the former senator’s wife, a 58-year-old Lebanon native, had no knowledge of nor intent to commit the crimes of which she’s accused.

“We heard a lot of nefarious characterization,” Coburn said after prosecutor Lara Pomerantz gave her opening statement. “You’ll find the characterization is grossly inaccurate with respect to Nadine Menendez.”

To convict her, Coburn added, jurors must find overwhelming evidence of every element of every count. She’s charged with conspiracy, bribery, extortion, and obstruction of justice.

“Knowledge and intent — those are the two most important words in this case for us,” he added. “There will be an absolute utter failure of proof in this case with respect to knowledge and intent, with respect to every element, and with respect to every count in this case.”

The trial, which had been repeatedly postponed as Nadine Menendez battled breast cancer, is expected to last nine weeks. That’s about how long Bob Menendez’s trial lasted; a separate jury convicted him in July of all counts.

Pomerantz started her nearly hourlong opening statement Monday by recounting a rendezvous Nadine Menendez had in a restaurant parking lot with insurance broker Jose Uribe.

They met not to dine, but rather so Uribe could give Nadine Menendez $15,000, which she used as a down payment for a new $60,000 Mercedes-Benz convertible in exchange for Bob Menendez’s interference in a state criminal case that threatened two of his friends, Pomerantz told jurors. Uribe, who pleaded guilty in a cooperation deal, testified against the former senator and is expected to testify in this trial too.

“That cash was a bribe,” Pomerantz said. “For years, the defendant and the senator put his power up for sale. They corrupted his office and betrayed the trust placed in him. They did that to feed their greed.”

Nadine Menendez, who the former senator began dating in 2018 and married in 2020, acted as the go-between, both to insulate him from trouble and “make sure everyone in the bribery scheme was getting what they wanted,” Pomerantz added.

“They were partners in crime, partners in corruption, and partners in greed,” she said. “She did the dirty work.”

Judge Sidney H. Stein warned jurors Monday that “being unaware of the law is not a defense.”

Bob and Nadine Menendez are accused of taking more than a dozen gold bars, almost $500,000 in cash, the luxury car, exercise equipment, mortgage payments, and a $10,000-a-month, no-show “consulting” job for Nadine Menendez.

In exchange, the former senator used his power to try to derail a federal bank fraud prosecution of Fred Daibes, his longtime friend and an Edgewater real estate developer; help Wael Hana, a longtime friend of Nadine Menendez’s, maintain a lucrative monopoly on halal meat exports to Egypt; and benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar, where each man had business interests. Daibes and Hana were also found guilty last year.

In January, Stein sentenced Bob Menendez to 11 years in prison on more than a dozen crimes, including acting as a foreign agent. He has appealed his conviction, called his prosecution “a political witch hunt,” and prodded President Donald Trump for a pardon. He isn’t scheduled to report to prison until June 6.