Inside the Indictment: Senator's Alleged Wrongdoings Run Gamut of Illegal Activity

Private plane rides, luxurious hotel and resort stays, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions: Those are among the bribes U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez solicited and accepted in exchange for legislative favors that helped enrich the man who paid them, according to a federal indictment.

And, according to law enforcement officials, a hefty digital paper trail proves all of it.

Inside a 68-page indictment come details of the alleged back-scratching relationship between Menendez and eye doctor Salomon Melgen, of Florida. The two have been friends for more than 20 years.

But when Menendez was elected to the United States Senate in 2006, that friendship became much more, the indictment says, as Melgen used his vast wealth to not only contribute to the senator’s campaign funds, but also to treat him to private travel in Florida, the Dominican Republic, and Paris, France.

On several occasions, Melgen used a private plane through his business Melissa Aviation to fly Menendez from New Jersey to Melgen’s villa in La Romana, Dominican Republic.

In 2010, Menendez planned a trip to Paris to meet a woman he was having a relationship with. When he learned where the woman would be staying, he had his staffers look into hotel rates for the Park Hyatt Paris-Verdome. The five-star hotel came with an expensive price tag, tallying more than $4,900 for a three-night stay, the charges said.

But it was nothing an email request couldn’t solve, the charges allege.

Menendez checked in with his friend Melgen to discuss how to pay for the European getaway.

Menendez then sent Melgen an email asking the doctor to book either a Park Suite King or the Park Deluxe King at the Park Hyatt on his behalf, the indictment said.

The email, in part, said the room needed “a king bed, work area with internet, limestone bath with soaking tub and enclosed rain shower, [and] views of courtyard or streets.” The senator’s email continued, “You call American Express Rewards and they will book it for you. It would need to be in my name,” the indictment alleged.

Melgen cashed in 649,611 American Express Rewards points to pay for Menendez’s Paris stay so the senator could spend time with a woman he was in a relationship with, the indictment said.

Despite accepting the variety of gifts, Menendez never once listed those “things of value” on his annual Financial Disclosure Reports between 2007 and 2012, the indictment said.

You Scratch My Back, I’ll Scratch Yours

Of course Melgen was helped as well when it came to what he wanted.

On three separate occasions, Melgen, through his personal assistant, solicited the advocacy of Menendez and his office to help with the non-immigrant visa application of Melgen’s girlfriends coming from separate countries, the indictment said.

In 2007, Melgen, who is married, encouraged a woman he was seeing from Brazil to begin studying at the University of Miami. In order to do so, the Brazilian native required a student visa.

That documentation was granted, the indictment said, shortly after Menendez’s office sent a personal letter from the Senator to the Counsel General advocating for the woman’s travel.

A similar case occurred in 2008, authorities charge, when another of Melgen’s girlfriends and her sister were preparing to leave the Dominican Republic to travel for some time in Florida.

Initially, despite Menendez’s office advocating for the women’s visa approval, the applications were denied. A second letter from Menendez’s office, however, sealed the deal.

Upon learning of the tourist visa application approval, the Menendez staffer helping in the situation emailed another staffer from his personal account, per the indictment, saying, “2 people from the DR who wanted visas to visit Dr. Melgem [sic] GOT THEM. In my view, this is ONLY DUE to the act that RM intervened. I’ve told RM.”

Senator Robert Menendez was commonly referred to in the communications as RM.

And then there was the 2012 re-election campaign for Menendez, one that included $751,500 in contributions from Melgen’s family and various businesses to Democratic-supporting organizations specifically campaigning for the senator.

Despite not having any businesses or residences located in New Jersey, Melgen, between Sept. 30 and Oct. 12, 2012, donated the following:

• $16,500 to the Union County Democratic Committee
• $37,000 to the Passaic County Democratic Committee
• $25,000 to the Camden County Democratic Committee
• $25,000 to Essex County Democratic Committee

Donations of any kind, including separate $300,000 checks from Melgen to the super PAC backing Menendez during that campaign, were often solicited by the senator’s office and are spelled out in emails between staff members and the doctor’s assistants.

Despite the accusations, Menendez fired back just hours after the indictment became public, saying the allegations were untrue and that he was ready to fight. Any thought of the senator resigning his post was squashed, saying, “I’m not going anywhere.”

New Jersey Democrats came out in full support of one of the state’s most senior politicians, citing his efforts to help the people of the Garden State first and foremost and that Menendez is innocent until proven guilty.

The 68-page indictment can be read here.

See related stories:

• U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey Indicted on Corruption Charges
• Menendez: ‘I’m Angry, Ready to Fight, And Not Going Anywhere’
• NJ Dems Show Support for Menendez After Corruption Indictment