Democratic Senator Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine are indicited

Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine Arslanian have been indicted by a federal grand jury on corruption charges in an investigation that focused on a luxury car, $400,000 in gold bars and an apartment allegedly hosted by Menendez and his wife.

The jury returned the indictment on claims that he had an improper relationship with three New Jersey businessmen, including an investigation into whether developer Fred Daibes gave his wife Nadine up to $400,000 in gold bars.

Arslanian (pictured right), 56, sold the gold between April 7, 2022 and June 16, 2022. Daibes is a longtime friend of Menendez and is believed to have ties to the mafia.

The indictment accuses Menendez and his wife of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using the senator’s influence to protect and enrich the businessman.

“These bribes included cash, gold, mortgage payments, compensation for a low- or no-show job, a luxury car and other items of value,” the indictment said.

It is the second time that Menendez has been charged with corruption. A 2015 case ended in a fog after a jury failed to reach a verdict on all counts and a judge acquitted him on some charges.

Menendez is running for re-election to his New Jersey Senate seat and already faces at least one Democratic challenger in the primary.

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