Nadine Menendez, wife of disgraced NJ Sen. Bob Menendez, found guilty in sweeping bribery case
NEW YORK — Nadine Menendez was found guilty on Monday of acting as the partner in crime of her convicted husband, ex-Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, by brokering backdoor bribery deals that saw the couple showered in gold bullion bars, wads of cash, and a Mercedes-Benz convertible.
Jurors, who got the case Friday, convicted Nadine of 18 counts, including conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, conspiracy to commit extortion, and obstruction of justice. The conviction carries a potential decades-long term.
The 58-year-old, known as Nadine Arslanian before she wed the embattled former lawmaker in 2020, was indicted alongside her husband in September 2023 on charges alleging she arranged a series of deals between her husband and a trio of New Jersey businessmen from 2018 through 2023, putting a price on his power as a senator and as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Last July Menendez was found guilty of acting as a foreign agent, bribery, and other offenses and in January was sentenced to 11 years in prison, a term he's set to begin serving on June 6 after reporting to the Bureau of Prisons.
The ex-senator raked in almost half a million dollars in cash, $150,000 worth of gold bars, a luxury convertible for Nadine, designer watches, and Formula 1 tickets from his corrupt benefactors in exchange for pulling strings for them behind the scenes, jurors at both trials heard. The couple's co-defendants, Wael Hana, 41, who ran a Halal certification business, and real estate developer Fred Daibes, 67, were also found guilty of related charges alongside Bob Menendez at his 2024 trial. The third co-conspirator, N.J. businessman Jose Uribe, cooperated in exchange for leniency.
Among other actions, Menendez coerced the highest levels of New Jersey state law enforcement to squash a criminal probe into Uribe and an associate, took bribes from Daibes to meddle in a pending federal prosecution against him in the Garden State, and pocketed bribes from Hana to pressure the U.S. Department of Agriculture to let him maintain an exclusive monopoly over U.S. exports of Halal products to Egypt.
The fraud came to light after FBI agents searched the couple's Englewood Cliffs, N.J., home in the summer of 2022 and turned up more than $100,000 worth of gold bars and over $480,000 in cash stashed away in closets, jackets embroidered with Menendez's name, and envelopes bearing Menendez and Daibes' fingerprints, according to trial evidence.
At Nadine's trial, the feds argued she played a crucial role in the scheme, acting as a go-between by keeping him in the loop and urging him to carry out the businessmen's requests. Her case was delayed while she underwent treatment for breast cancer, undergoing a double mastectomy while her husband went on trial last year.
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New York Post
27 minutes ago
- New York Post
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Politico
40 minutes ago
- Politico
A $40 million flameout in New Jersey's race for governor puts scrutiny on teachers union
TRENTON, New Jersey — New Jersey's most politically influential union funneled more than $40 million into this year's race for governor — only to land with a fifth-place finish. Now, its political instincts are in question. The New Jersey Education Association made its largest investment in a campaign to support its president, Sean Spiller, in his longshot bid for the governor's mansion. No other special interest group has ever spent as much in state history to promote a single candidate, a sign of an increase of big money in state races following the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. Spiller struggled to raise his own funds — so much so that he didn't qualify for debates in the Democratic primary. He largely offloaded his campaign infrastructure to a super PAC backing his candidacy, Working New Jersey, which was funded indirectly by the union. The super PAC's spending is among the most an independent expenditure group has dropped in a gubernatorial election nationwide. Publicly, many lawmakers and union members are hesitant to speak out against the NJEA, which remains in a class of its own when it comes to political influence and has about 200,000 members across the state. But in the aftermath of a multimillion-dollar debacle, some in Trenton are starting to question the union's political prowess. Democratic state Sen. Vin Gopal, chair of the Senate Education Committee, called the spending 'concerning' and said that he's 'talked to a lot of the teachers here in Monmouth [County] and they're pretty frustrated.' 'I think the strength of the NJEA will be questioned after these election results,' Gopal said. 'How does it not?' The bet was that if union turnout was high, Spiller would be able to eke out a win. Spiller ended up earning 10 percent of the vote, a distant fifth behind Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.), who won the nomination with 34 percent. But he earned close to 30,000 more votes than former state Senate President Steve Sweeney — a foe of the NJEA in a previous campaign. It's not the first time the union has lost a pricey gamble. In 2017, the union spent around $5 million to oust Sweeney — which at the time was considered the most expensive state legislative race in American history. The effort was unsuccessful and Sweeney won by 17 points against his Republican opponent. One former high-level NJEA official, granted anonymity to talk freely about their former employer, said that the millions spent 'didn't seem like a good investment' and could impact its ability to advocate for teachers in Trenton. 'The NJEA leadership's credibility I believe has been diminished as it relates to going into the Statehouse and fighting for issues for the association,' the person said, adding that local education associations' 'power remains the same.' 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'I think it was a very poorly calculated and piss-poor decision by the NJEA to blow that kind of money and the results prove that,' said John Napolitani, a local mayor and head of Asbury Park schools teachers' union. 'I don't even think the membership realized how much of their dollars were spent on this race, basically for a loss.' The union has previously pushed back on criticism about its political spending — particularly from the Sunlight Policy Center, an organization devoted to researching and countering the NJEA — as 'anti-union propaganda.' NJEA Secretary-Treasurer Petal Robertson in a statement to POLITICO condemned 'politicians who have gladly accepted significant financial support from NJEA members many times for their own campaigns' who have come out against the spending for Spiller. 'They never question why our members choose to support them,' Robertson said. 'They do often ask why we don't give more, so they aren't concerned about NJEA members investing in electoral advocacy. The concern only seems to arise when that investment goes to someone outside of the established political power structure. We know the usual naysayers, and they can continue with the same tired attacks, but we know our power and we own it.' At the Statehouse, some people see the investment in Spiller as business as usual. Democratic state Sen. Shirley Turner said that the union has long put its thumb on the scale in elections. 'You know, they do it all the time, it seems,' Turner, vice-chair of the Senate Education Committee, said in an interview. 'I don't know if this is any different than previously, they pick candidates, and they decide to support them in all ways, you know, including funding.' The union famously fought with Republican former Gov. Chris Christie — who likened the group to the mafia — during his eight years in office. That feud between the union and the right in New Jersey may carry on — Republican Jack Ciattarelli, his party's nominee for governor, accused Sherrill of rushing to 'suck up to the NJEA and embrace the guy who just lit $40 million of [teachers'] dues money on fire these past few months' in a recent social media post. 'What an insult to New Jersey's hard-working educators,' Ciattarelli added. Sherrill's campaign declined to comment when asked her thoughts on the NJEA's spending in the primary. It's common for teachers unions around the country to engage in political spending, though rarely to the extent of the NJEA. Notably in 2023, the Chicago Teachers Union spent more than $2 million to get its member and organizer Brandon Johnson into the mayorship. On the federal level, from 2023-2024, the National Education Association dropped $32 million on political spending (primarily to liberal groups), making it the top spender among teachers unions, according to OpenSecrets. The NJEA blew past that total in a state-level race in just a couple of months. The NJEA had a Herculean task in uplifting Spiller, who struggled to solidify his lane in the six-person primary and faced controversy during his time as mayor of Montclair. Despite Spiller's second-to-last finish, election results suggest his message — and the union's big spending — resonated in pockets of the state. He unexpectedly won Camden — a major city in South Jersey — and won Cumberland County, a rural area that has been trending quickly towards Republicans. But in Montclair, he finished in fifth. Bob Russo, a former mayor and member of the town council, said Spiller's tenure as mayor did not make him beloved by the town's rank-and-file Democrats. 'He's really not embraced by his hometown. That's your base,' he said. 'It's a shame he couldn't get more support, but it's because of [his] policies and the conduct as mayor.' Spiller's tenure as president is up this August. He'll be succeeded by Steve Beatty, the union's current vice president. After Spiller's loss, Beatty and Robertson in a statement touted the 'unprecedented grassroots effort powered by thousands of member volunteers' and congratulated Sherrill. Beatty acknowledged that 'in a six-way race with five other well-known and well-funded candidates … there were always going to be five candidates who came up short.' He also said that endorsing Spiller ensured that issues important to the union 'were part of the conversation in the primary.' 'We are proud that Sean was right there in the race alongside those candidates with deeper ties to New Jersey's political and financial elites,' he continued. 'It says a lot about how hard our members fought to change the narrative around who is qualified to step up and lead.' Unions from different sectors also spent in the race in support of other candidates, though not as much as the NJEA. And while other Democrats did outraise Spiller, no other independent expenditure groups boosting his opponents had as many resources as Working New Jersey. As of the end of May, two groups supporting Rep. Josh Gottheimer spent more than $11 million, as did two groups backing Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, and super PACs backing Sherrill and Sweeney spent around $4 million each. Other union leaders stand by the multimillion-dollar decision. 'I do think it was worth it,' said Melissa Tomlinson, vice-president of the Atlantic County Council of Education Associations and a member of NJEA's state executive committee. 'We need our voices heard in decision-making spaces. It's not enough for us to just be lobbying.' The NJEA counts around 200,000 members, and it's evident that not even half of them voted for their union president, who received less than 90,000 votes. 'If you were to ask [teachers] 'Is this how you want your monies used' — for a sitting president to spend millions of dollars to run for governor — they would say no,' the former high-level NJEA official said. 'And how do I think they would say no? The numbers that did not vote for him on Election Day is proof.' The union has not yet determined how it will engage in the general election. Beatty said that 'NJEA members will consider who to support in November in all the races,' and both Ciattarelli and Sherrill will be invited to partake in the endorsement screening process. In past elections, the NJEA has been a prominent spender post-primary. The union has consistently endorsed Democrats for governor, and it doesn't appear that will change anytime soon. Ciattarelli supports policies like school vouchers, which are a non-starter for the union. When asked at a recent event if she would seek the NJEA's support, Sherrill told reporters that her 'door is open to everyone.' Throughout the primary, Spiller pushed back on criticisms about the union's spending, asserting that he was not in charge of how that money was spent. He also often argued that the union represents working-class people, as opposed to big-dollar donors. 'It's never about me,' Spiller said during the primary. 'This is about, how do we change systems? How do we fight for somebody who's gonna fight for working class folks? And that never stops.'
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina won't run in 2026 after opposing Trump's bill
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Tillis, who would have been up for a third term, said he was proud of his career in public service but acknowledged the difficult political environment for those who buck their party and go it alone. Advertisement 'I look forward to having the pure freedom to call the balls and strikes as I see fit and representing the great people of North Carolina to the best of my ability,' Tillis said in a statement. Republicans hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate. Trump, in social posts, had berated Tillis for being one of two Republican senators who voted on Saturday night against advancing the massive tax bill. The Republican president accused Tillis of seeking publicity with his 'no' vote and threatened to campaign against him, accusing the senator of doing nothing to help his constituents after last year's devastating floods in western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene. Advertisement 'Tillis is a talker and complainer, NOT A DOER,' Trump wrote. The North Carolina Republican Party chairman, Jason Simmons, said the party wishes Tillis well and 'will hold this seat for Republicans in 2026.' Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the chairman of the campaign arm for Senate Republicans, did not mention Tillis in a statement but said the party's winning streak in North Carolina will continue. Scott noted that Trump won the state three times. Democrats expressed confidence about their prospects. Former Rep. Wiley Nickel, who announced his candidacy in April, said he was ready for any Republican challenger. 'I've flipped a tough seat before and we're going to do it again,' Nickel said in a statement. Some said Tillis' decision is another sign of the dramatic transformation of the Republican Party under Trump, with few lawmakers critical of the president or his agenda remaining in office. It 'proves there is no space within the Republican Party to dissent over taking health care away from 11.8 million people,' said Lauren French, spokesperson for the Senate Majority PAC, a political committee aligned with the chamber's Democratic members. Tillis rose to prominence in North Carolina when, as a second-term state House member, he quit his IBM consultant job and led the GOP's recruitment and fundraising efforts in the chamber for the 2010 elections. Republicans won majorities in the House and Senate for the first time in 140 years. Tillis was later elected as state House speaker and helped enact conservative policies on taxes, gun rights, regulations and abortion while serving in the role for four years. He also helped push a state constitutional referendum to ban gay marriage, which was approved by voters in 2012 but was ultimately struck down by the courts as unconstitutional. Advertisement In 2014, Tillis helped flip control of the U.S. Senate to the GOP after narrowly defeating Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan. During his more than a decade in office, he championed issues such as mental health and substance abuse recovery, Medicaid expansion and support for veterans. As a more moderate Republican, Tillis became known for his willingness to work across the aisle on some issues. That got him into trouble with his party at times, most notably in 2023 when North Carolina Republicans voted to censure him over several matters, including his challenges to certain immigration policies and his gun policy record. 'Sometimes those bipartisan initiatives got me into trouble with my own party,' Tillis said, 'but I wouldn't have changed a single one.' Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro and Joey Cappelletti in Washington and Makiya Seminera in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report.
