Businessman’s Intervention in Foreclosure
A New Jersey businessman, Wael Hana, intervened to rescue the home of Senator Bob Menendez’s wife from foreclosure just as Menendez allegedly helped Hana secure a lucrative business relationship with Egypt, according to testimony presented at Menendez’s bribery trial on Monday. Attorney John Moldovan, testifying before a Manhattan federal court jury, revealed that he was working for Hana in July 2019 when Hana asked him to pay over $20,000 toward the mortgage of the Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home.
Financial Arrangements and Foreclosure Prevention
Moldovan testified that Hana provided the money, which he then delivered to a bank to prevent a mortgage foreclosure lawsuit. This financial intervention occurred shortly before Menendez, 70, who has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, moved into the home after marrying Nadine Menendez a year later. Nadine Menendez and Hana have also pleaded not guilty in the case. Nadine Menendez’s trial has been postponed until July due to her recent breast cancer diagnosis and required surgery.
FBI Raid Uncovers Cash and Gold Bars
In 2022, an FBI raid on the Menendez home uncovered 13 gold bars and over $480,000 in cash. A federal agent who led the raid testified extensively about the findings last week, noting that tens of thousands of dollars were found stuffed in four jackets where the senator kept his coats. Additional cash was discovered in bags and a closet safe. Prosecutors assert that these gold bars, cash, and a luxury car found in the couple’s garage were proceeds from bribery.
Defense Arguments and Background
Menendez’s lawyers contend that the gold bars belonged to Nadine Menendez and that the senator kept cash at home as a reaction to his family’s traumatic experience of losing everything, except cash, before fleeing Cuba prior to his birth. Moldovan’s testimony also indicated that Hana wanted to establish a legal record that the money used to pay off the mortgage debt was a loan, not a gift.
Accusations of Favorable Actions Toward Egypt
Prosecutors argue that the mortgage payment coincided with Hana securing a monopoly with Egypt, ensuring that any meat exported there from the U.S. was certified by Hana’s company to conform with Islamic dietary requirements. They allege that, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez took favorable actions toward Egypt to benefit Hana, who had a long-standing friendship with Nadine Menendez. Menendez had to relinquish his position following his arrest.
Charges of Acting as a Foreign Agent
One of the charges against Menendez is that he acted as a foreign agent for Egypt. The trial continues as the court examines the complex financial and political connections at the heart of the case.
