Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez Indicted Over $400,000 Gold Bar And Other Bribery Schemes

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) has been indicted in New York for allegedly accepting bribes in the form of gold bars, according to federal prosecutors.

The bars, which were valued at approximately $400,000, were allegedly given to him by a developer and former bank chairman, Fred Daibes, a felon who was facing federal bank charges. Daibes allegedly bribed Mendez in exchange for assistance in his case.

Instead of facing over 10 years in prison, Daibes only ended up serving probation after striking an agreement with the US Attorney's Office in New Jersey.

"For purposes of the Federal Extortion Act, it makes no difference if the senator took an official act so long as he accepted the money and there was knowledge the money was in exchange for that official influence, even if he never carried out what he had promised he would do," according to NBC Legal Analyst Danny Cevallos.

Menendez disclosed that his family had accepted gold bars in 2020. Daibes encountered bank fraud charges that could have netted him up to a decade in prison for lying about a nearly $2 million loan from Mariner's Bank, where Daibes served as chairman.

Last year, however, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney's Office agreed to let Daibes plead guilty to one count and serve probation. They said Daibes had repaid the loan. -Fox News

According to the report, Menendez is 'close' with US Attorney Philip Sellinger - having supported him for the position, while Sellinger had previously raised funds for Menendez's campaign.

Officials are also looking at whether Menendez, the former Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, or his wife, had improperly received gifts from a New Jersey food processor who obtained an exclusive contract with the Egyptian government to certify halal food experts around the world.

Egyptian officials and the New Jersey businessman who received the contract were hosted by Menendez in his office in 2018, according to the Wall Street Journal. A year later, the businessman became the "sole certifier of halal meat exported from the U.S. to Egypt," the outlet noted.

NBC News 4 said the gifts included the usage of a Mercedes and a luxury Washington, D.C., apartment. Investigators are attempting to resolve if Menendez, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, used his standing to help the man secure the contract. -Fox News

This is hardly the first time Menendez has been under federal criminal investigation.