Prosecutors showed jurors in Sen. Bob Menendez's trial Thursday in multiple instances where he investigated the value of gold while trying to help a New Jersey businessman who authorities say bribed him with gold and cash.
Evidence about the New Jersey Democrat's online searches was prominently displayed to a New York jury as prosecutors traced the history of his text messages and Internet inquiries as he allegedly tried to help Fred Daibes, a prominent promoter real estate that is judged with him.
The evidence is considered crucial in the government's effort to show that Menendez and his wife received gold bullion, cash and a luxury car between 2018 and 2022 from three New Jersey businessmen who benefited from favors which Menéndez is supposed to have delivered in exchange.
Menéndez, Daibes and another businessman and co-accused, Wael Hana, have pleaded not guilty. His wife, Nadine Menéndez, He will face trial at a later date and is recovering from breast cancer surgery. She has also pleaded not guilty.
A third employer pleaded guilty before trial and testified against the other defendants. The businessman, José Uribe, he said he tried to bribe Menendez paying for a Mercedes-Benz convertible for Nadine Menendez. In return, he said he wanted the senator to use his influence to stop criminal investigations of his business partners.
The gold bars found in the home Menendez shared with his wife in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, played a prominent role early in the trial when an FBI agent described a 2022 search of the residence to which the senator moved in 2020.
The search turned up more than $100,000 worth of gold bars and more than $486,000 in cash, some stuffed in coat pockets hanging in closets, in purses, and in shoes and boots. A Mercedes-Benz was parked in the garage.
On Thursday, the topic of gold came up repeatedly when another FBI agent described Internet searches Menendez did when he researched the price of gold in April 2019, twice in May 2021 , again in October 2021, twice in December 2021, once in January 2022 and again in March and May 2022.
Among the searches, Agent Paul Van Wie said, were cases in which Menendez investigated the value of one gram, one ounce and one kilogram of gold. The agent said a search of Menendez's Internet history since 2008 showed the senator had never looked up gold prices during that period until April 5, 2019.
Menendez's lawyers have said the gold bars found in the house belonged to his wife and that kept the senator in the dark about the gifts he accepted when he was in financial trouble.
Prosecutors tried to prove Thursday through emails, text messages and online gold price searches that Menendez was interested in the gold as alleged. tried to recommend a new federal prosecutor for New Jersey that could help Daibes obtain a favorable outcome in a criminal case against him.
Online searches also came up as Menendez he allegedly used his international influence to help Daibes secure a $95 million investment from a Qatari investment fund through actions favorable to the government of Qatar.
Daibes is credited with building a series of luxury waterfront buildings known as the “Gold Coast” in the New Jersey town of Edgewater.
Prosecutors showed the jury Thursday an email and text correspondence reflecting that Menendez introduced Daibes to a member of the Qatari royal family who was a director of the investment firm and also met with Qatari officials and made public statements of support for Qatar while the real estate deal was being negotiated. .
After the deal was signed in May 2022, Daibes gave Menendez at least one gold bar, prosecutors say.
In a search of Menendez's home in 2022, FBI agents found two one-kilo gold bars and nine one-ounce gold bars with serial numbers showing they had been previously owned by Daibes, along with about a dozen cash envelopes containing tens of thousands. of dollars bearing Daibes' fingerprints or DNA, according to evidence shown to jurors.
One of the one-pound gold bars was found inside a Ziploc bag that had been wrapped in a paper towel, an FBI agent testified at the start of the trial. In the same closet, the FBI discovered a safe containing loose cash, cash envelopes, seven one-ounce gold bars and another one-pound gold bar, the agent said .
Menendez's lawyers say the closet, which was locked, belonged to his wife and he did not have a key.
In August 2021, according to evidence shown to the jury Thursday, Menendez used an encrypted messaging app to send Daibes the text of a press release praising the government of Qatar, before texting Daibes: “You might want to send them over. I'm about to release.”
When Menendez was indicted last fall, he held the powerful position of chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a position he resigned after being indicted. He has resisted calls, even from prominent Democrats, to resign from the Senate and recently announced that is running for re-election as an independent
