US Federal prosecutors and the FBI are investigating whether pro-Armenian Senator from New Jersey Robert Menendez or his wife - ethnic Armenian Nadine Arslanian - received unreported gifts of a luxury car and an apartment in Washington from a halal meat company that is also the focus of a criminal inquiry, Report informs via The New York Times.
The search followed the Egyptian government’s decision in 2019 to make the company, IS EG Halal of Edgewater, N.J., the sole authorized importer of halal meat into the country from anywhere in the world. The US Department of Agriculture warned that the abrupt change could drive meat prices for Egypt’s 90 million Muslims higher and disrupt the market.
Until recently there had been few outward signs of movement in the federal investigation of Mr. Menendez since an initial blitz of subpoenas became public in October. Two weeks ago, as part of the same investigation, the Manhattan prosecutors subpoenaed documents tied to a bill that has stalled in the New Jersey Legislature that would limit the height of construction projects near the Palisades along the Hudson River. The subpoena asked for any correspondence about the bill from Mr. Menendez, Ms. Menendez or Fred Daibes. Mr. Daibes pleaded guilty last year to a federal banking crime as part of a negotiated agreement. The arrangement requires no prison time, and his sentencing has been delayed, fueling speculation that he was cooperating with the Menendez investigation.
Mr. Menendez and his wife were married in October 2020 in a small ceremony in Queens.
Even before their engagement, the couple had begun traveling together extensively. They received wedding gifts from a who’s who of New Jersey leaders, according to a disclosure report Mr. Menendez filed in May 2021, as is required of federal officials.
In March 2022, Mr. Menendez amended that report to add an asset belonging to his wife: gold bullion bars worth between $100,001 and $250,000.
The senator’s disclosure reports do not include any mention of a Mercedes or an apartment. Mr. Menendez’s Senate spokeswoman, Jennifer Morrill, did not directly address the claims that the federal inquiry had expanded to include questions about a Mercedes and a Washington apartment, or the gold bullions of the senator's wife.
The Armenian National Committee of America awarded Menendez the highest mark for the service to the Armenian lobby and the "decent" work against Türkiye and Azerbaijan.
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