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Gold bars in Bob Menendez bribery case were involved in decade-old robbery, report says

Menendez and his wife Nadine Arslanian were indicted on federal charges in September, with prosecutors alleging that they accepted bribes of gold bars, a 2019 Mercedes-Benz, and more.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., arrives at Manhattan federal court in October to enter a not guilty plea to a conspiracy charge alleging he acted as an agent of the Egyptian government. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., arrives at Manhattan federal court in October to enter a not guilty plea to a conspiracy charge alleging he acted as an agent of the Egyptian government. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)Read moreFrank Franklin II / AP

Gold bars that U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.) is accused of accepting as bribes seem to have a seasoned history.

Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian, were indicted on federal charges in September, with prosecutors alleging that they accepted bribes of gold bars, a 2019 Mercedes-Benz, and more in exchange for political influence. Three businessmen were also charged in connection with their alleged dealings with the senator: Jose Uribe, Wael Hana, and Fred Daibes. They have all maintained their innocence.

The FBI uncovered $100,000 in gold bars — along with almost $500,000 in cash — in a search of the couple’s home in Bergen County last year, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors accused Menendez and his wife of accepting gold bars from Daibes, a real estate developer who allegedly sought help from the senator in an attempt to get out of a federal bank fraud case against him in 2020 — in which he ultimately pleaded guilty — in multiple instances.

Investigators said they found several gold bars with serial numbers registered to Daibes in Menendez’s home.

According to an NBC New York report, those gold bars were involved in an almost decades-old robbery case.

Daibes reported that he was a victim of an armed robbery in 2013, with $500,000 in cash and 22 gold bars stolen, according to Edgewater, N.J., police records, NBC reported. Police caught four suspects with the property, which was returned to Daibes.

Daibes attested in 2014 that each of his gold bars had a unique serial number, which prosecutors say matches the bars Daibes said were stolen from him in 2013, NBC reported.

Prosecutors in Bergen County, where the 2013 robbery occurred, declined to comment Tuesday.

The businessman is also accused of providing the senator with cash and furniture, according to the indictment.

Menendez said he’ll fight the charges against him, which include a superseding indictment in October in which prosecutors alleged he acted as an unregistered agent for Egypt through his role heading the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Menendez previously got out of legal turmoil when prosecutors unsuccessfully accused him in 2015 of accepting luxury gifts and hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from a friend in exchange for favors, but experts say this time is different.