(NewsNation) — The wife of embattled U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., received a diamond engagement as part of the lawmaker’s alleged bribery scheme, according to new court filings.
The jewelry was purchased for Nadine Menendez as part of an alleged $150,000 bribe for her husband’s intervention in a criminal insurance fraud prosecution, prosecutors claim.
The Menendezs were each charged last fall with aiding three New Jersey businessmen in return for cash, gold bars and a luxury car.
The couple and the businessmen, who also face charges, have all pleaded not guilty. The Menendezs are seeking separate trials on bribery charges they each face in a New York court.
Nadine Menendez’s lawyers asked in papers filed in January for separate trials on the grounds that the senator may want to testify at a trial scheduled to start in May and may divulge marital communications that she plans to keep secret.
Since the 70-year-old senator was first charged in September, he has been forced to relinquish his powerful post leading the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Prosecutors have added to the bribery charges too, saying that he conspired with his wife and one businessman to secretly advance Egypt’s interests and that he acted favorably toward Qatar’s government to aid a businessman.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
