Menendez indicted on corruption charges

New Jersey Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez has been indicted on 14 federal corruption charges, including allegedly accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in improper gifts and campaign contributions in exchange for using his office to help a close friend and donor.

The 68-page indictment against Menendez was handed down by a federal grand jury in Newark on Wednesday afternoon.

 

Also indicted was Dr. Salomon Melgen, a longtime Menendez friend and close associate. The two men had been at the center of a lengthy criminal probe by the Justice Department and FBI.

According to the indictment, “Menendez accepted close to $1 million worth of lavish gifts and campaign contributions from Melgen in exchange for using the power of his Senate office to influence the outcome of ongoing contractual and Medicare billing disputes worth tens of millions of dollars to Melgen and to support the visa applications of several of Melgen’s girlfriends.”

Some of the gifts Menendez received from Melgen, the indictment said, included “domestic and international flights on private jets, first class domestic airfare, use of a Caribbean villa, access to an exclusive Dominican resort, stay as a luxury hotel in Paris, expensive meals, golf outings, and tens of thousands of dollars in contributions to a legal defense fund.” (Continues at POLITICO)