After three separate federal investigations spanning two decades, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez has been found guilty of 16 criminal counts, including bribery, wire fraud, obstruction of justice and conspiring to act as a foreign agent in a case known internationally for its gold bar bribes.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams of the Southern District of New York declared, “His years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end.”
Menendez is the seventh sitting U.S. senator convicted of a federal crime. He is the first convicted as a foreign agent and the first indicted twice for bribery.
His conviction adds to New Jersey’s international reputation as the Soprano State and to the long running reputation of Hudson County as the heart of NJ corruption.
Menendez was convicted of doing favors for three New Jersey businessmen and the Egyptian government in exchange for the traditional Soprano State bribes of cash, a Mercedes, a no-show job for his future wife and for the headline-grabbing bribe of gold bars.
Per usual, Menendez is saying he is an innocent patriot and will appeal. During the trial he continued an effort to retain his Senate seat as an independent candidate.
While media reports downplay his chance of success with appeals, it is important to remember that the U.S. Supreme
Court has damaged federal prosecutors’ ability to crack down on corruption by narrowing the definition of bribery.
The long history of Menendez and allegations of corruption can be found in The Soprano State (Chapters 3, 8 and 9) and at thesopranostate.com Updates. Chapter 3 tells how Menendez testified against his mentor Hudson County state Sen. William Musto, who was convicted of racketeering in 1982, and has seven pages about a 2006 federal probe of Menendez that went nowhere.
In an additional case seven years ago, a hung jury allowed Menendez to escape charges that he took bribes from a Florida doctor in exchange for luxury gifts.
This time around, defense attorneys explained that all the money and gold bars at Menendez’ home were from a hoarding disorder resulting from Menendez, the son of Cuban immigrants, growing up poor. The other defense was that his wife Nadine, also charged in the recent case, interacted with the businessmen without the senator knowing. The jury took 12 hours to decide that the excuses did not add up.
Two of the businessmen, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, were found guilty with Menendez. Jose Uribe pleaded guilty and aided the prosecution. Nadine Menendez will have her own trial.
Nicholas Fandos, Tracey Tully and Benjamin Weiser, New York Times, July 16 and 17, 2024; S.P. Sullivan, NJ.com, July 16, 2024; Drew Sheneman, Star-Ledger, July 17, 2024; Charles Stile, NorthJersey.com, July 17, 2024
Longtime Soprano State political boss George Norcross has been charged with first-degree racketeering in what state Attorney General Matthew Platkin describes at a 12-year long criminal enterprise that influenced legislation and used both coercion and extortion to illegally obtain property on the lucrative Camden waterfront.
Norcross was charged along with longtime associates, his brother Philip Norcross, his lawyer William Tambussi, former Camden Mayor Dana Redd and two others.
You can find Norcross’ historical behavior as a political bully in seven of ten chapters in The Soprano State, including 19 pages in Chapter 3 on political bosses where details researched by coauthor Bob Ingle describe a failed investigation with recordings that included Norcross threatening to remove the body parts of an uncooperative lawmaker. Norcross’ behavior also was featured in The Soprano State movie
Platkin is the first to say enough is enough: “No one is our state is above the law.” Taking on The Soprano State’s subtitle, New Jersey’s Culture of Corruption, Platkin said, “There is nothing inherent in our state’s culture that requires us to accept politics and government that functions in this way.”
Norcross brazenly attended the announcement of the charges, denied wrongdoing and called Platkin a coward.
The indictment charges that Norcross collected millions of dollars in government tax credits and both controlled and influenced government officials along the way to accomplish the goals of his criminal enterprise, using coercion, extortion and other criminal acts to acquire property and property rights.
Norcross is charged with using his influence over government officials to create legislation that laid the framework for the illegal enterprise and with using the cooperation of then Mayor Redd to acquire property in Camden.
Platkin said Norcross and his associates used “political blood sport” to take the Camden waterfront for themselves.
The investigation stems from a report by the state comptroller accusing the state Economic Development Authority of improperly awarding tax credits to certain companies at the cost of billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money. Gov. Murphy appointed a special task force to investigate the state’s economic development incentives.
Norcross also was publicly defiant when that task force zeroed in on this enterprise.
S.P. Sullivan and Ted Sherman, NJ.com, June 17 and 18, 2024; Attorney General Matthew Platkin, June 17, 2024; Katie Sobko, NorthJersey.com, June 17, 2024
