Shady U.S. Senator Accepts $400,000 in Gold Bars from Mobster, Gives Secrets To Egyptian Business Man, Knows Nothing About How Treasure Works

Daily Mail - Democrat Senator Bob Menendez and his wife are indicted for 'accepting $400,000 in gold bars and cash from mob-linked New Jersey developer in return for favors - and giving Egyptian businessman highly sensitive U.S. information'

The indictment claims the couple had an improper relationship with three New Jersey businessmen: Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes, who allegedly paid the couple in exchange for Menendez to use his influence in Washington D.C. to their benefit. 

The couple face three criminal counts each: conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right. The three businessmen face charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit honest services fraud.

How does one find themselves such a situation? At what point when you're dealing with the mob, the Egyptian government, and a kilo of gold all at the same time do you take a step back and think, "This is probably going to end poorly."

I'm not a politics guy whatsoever. I don't know anything about who U.S. Senator Bob Menendez is, or what he done. In fact, I don't know what any U.S. Senator does. What are their responsibilities? How many are there? How long are their terms? Do their jobs involve exploring ancient ruins in search of buried treasure? I couldn't tell you.

If I stumbled upon $400,000 in gold bars, I would not begin to know what to do with them. Melt them down and take them to a pawn shop? Would Bank of America be able to assist me with my gold? Whoever if going to liquidate your gold for you is going to have so many questions. Especially if you're a politician. Imagine a shady politician trying to convince you that the $400k in gold bars he's holding are gold bars he came upon legally. 

"Yeah, you see, my grandfather is actually the man who Steven Spielberg based Indiana Jones." I'd honestly be more likely to believe that than any other "legitimate" reason ol' Bobby Menendez could try to sell me on. 

Obviously, Menendez' gold bars ended up getting him in trouble. I could have told you that was going to happen as soon as he came into possession of them. You're not just going to be in possession of ancient gold bars without some sort of curse being bestowed upon you. To deal in treasure when you have as many skeletons in your closet as Bob is beyond reckless. If you're a man who's been illegally aiding the Egyptian Government. A man with a history of accepting bribes. A man with wads of cash stuffed in envelopes hidden around various corners of your apartment. The last thing in the world you should be doing is fucking with treasure.

The indictment also charges the senator with providing 'sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt.' 

The probe also looked at other bribes allegedly paid to the couple. 'Those bribes included cash, gold, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury vehicle, and other things of value,' the indictment said.

A June 2022 raid on their New Jersey home found 'over $480,000 in cash - much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe,' the indictment notes, adding Nadine had over $70,000 in a safe deposit box. 

All treasure comes with a catch. Whether is being cursed by a mummy, or cursed by "three criminal counts each: conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right", if you deal in treasure, you're going to pay for it one way or another.