Bob Menendez took Mercedes-Benz as bribe, New Jersey businessman testifies

New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez interfered in a criminal investigation as a favor to a businessman who helped the senator’s then-girlfriend buy a new Mercedes-Benz convertible worth more than $60,000, a jury was told.

Jose Uribe, a former insurance broker in New Jersey, took the stand on Friday in Menendez’s corruption trial and immediately admitted that he bribed Menendez by giving Nadine Menendez money for the car in 2019.

Uribe said he wanted Menendez to use his political influence to make a New Jersey attorney general’s office investigation into two of his associates “go away.” The probe was looking into allegations of insurance fraud.

As a way to influence Menendez, Uribe helped Nadine secure a $15,000 down payment for the new car and then later, car payments, the court heard.

Uribe, who was initially indicted alongside Menendez, his wife, and two other businessmen,took a plea deal with prosecutors in March.

His testimony is crucial for the government to prove that Menendez engaged in a years-long bribery scheme, accepting lavish gifts, gold bars, and cash in exchange for wielding his influence as a senator.

“I knew that giving a car in return for influencing a United States senator to stop a criminal investigation was wrong,” Uribe told a judge in court when he pleaded guilty. “I deeply regret my actions.”

Before the alleged bribery scheme hatched, Uribe was desperate to help two of his associates out of the insurance fraud investigation, prosecutors said. Uribe told the court that he considered one of the associates to be like a family member to him.

At the same time, Nadine was allegedly desperate for a new car and had complained to Wael Hana, an Egyptian-American businessman indicted in the scheme, that she