Menendez's Wife Killed Man With Her Mercedes, Which Businessman Replaced As Favor: Reports

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — While Nadine Arslanian was dating Sen. Robert Menendez in 2018, she fatally struck a man crossing a Bogota, N.J. street late one night — and then had an American businessman finance a replacement ride in exchange for a favor from the senator, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

The now-wife of the senator was indicted on Sept. 22, along with her husband, for accepting bribes including cash and a Mercedes Benz convertible.

New details in the media this week revealed that Arslanian needed the car because her own Mercedes had been destroyed in a fatal accident months earlier.

In 2019, according to the indictment, businessman Jose Uribe — whom Arslanian had introduced to Menendez at one point, and who has been indicted along with the couple — agreed to finance s new car for Arslanian if the senator did him a favor, the indictment states.

According to the indictment, the senator intervened to try to have a New Jersey-based insurance fraud investigation of Uribe's employee resolved favorably.

"In exchange for the promise of the luxury convertible, Menendez contacted a senior state prosecutor at the NJ AG’s Office who supervised the prosecution and investigation (“Official-2”) at least twice," the indictment states. "During those communications, Menendez attempted to pressure Official-2 to resolve the prosecution more favorably to the defendant. Official-2 considered Menendez’s actions inappropriate and did not agree to intervene."

While the indictment and bribery allegations have made news since September, little was revealed about the car crash until Wednesday.

The Times reported that on a December night in 2018, Richard Koop, 49, got out of an Uber near his home in Bogota.

That was when he was struck and killed by Arslanian's convertible, the story notes.

The family of the deceased man — who was a beloved dad and uncle, according to his obituary — tells the Times that they were suspicious of the "one-sided" investigation of the crash that followed.

Arslanian was not drug-tested or charged in the crash, according to the story, but police investigated where Koop had been prior to the crash.

Arslanian, for her part, claimed that she couldn't avoid Koop, according to video posted of the crash online.

In video posted by the New Jersey Herald, with enhanced audio, Arslanian is heard telling police, "He jumped on my windshield," and asking for an attorney.

Then, a man identifying himself as a retired Hackensack police officer comes on the scene and says that Arslanian is "his buddy's wife" and that his buddy had asked him to come out and help. He asks whether the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office will be involved.

Police respond that they are investigating because of the nature of what happened, not necessarily because Arslanian is in trouble.

The Times story identifies the "buddy" as Menendez.

Months later, Arslanian had her replacement Mercedes, and texted a photograph to Menendez with a little heart.

The indictment notes that during a search of the couple's home, "The FBI found many of the fruits of this bribery scheme, including cash, gold, the luxury convertible, and home furnishings. Over $480,000 in cash — much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe."

The indictment says, "In exchange for Menendez’s actions, Uribe provided Nadine Menendez with $15,000 cash for the down payment on the luxury convertible in April 2019. After the purchase was complete, Nadine Menendez messaged Menendez, 'Congratulations mon amour de la vie, we are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes.❤️” and texted Menendez [a] photograph of the
convertible. Thereafter, Uribe made monthly payments to Mercedes-Benz for the convertible between 2019 and June 2022."

Uribe stopped making payments after the FBI began investigating and asking questions, the indictment says.

The couple married in October 2020, the indictment says.

Read prior reporting here: Gold Bars For Govt. Documents: Feds Say NJ Sen. Menendez Aided Egypt