Love Triangle? Bob Menendez's Wife Allegedly Dated Embattled NJ Senator and R. Kelly's Lawyer at the Same Time
Love triangle? Bob Menendez’s now-wife allegedly dated both the embattled New Jersey senator and R. Kelly’s lawyer at the same time, RadarOnline.com has learned.
In a surprising development to come one week after Senator Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, were indicted on three federal bribery charges last Friday, sources claimed Arslanian cheated on her lawyer boyfriend with Menendez before their marriage in 2020.
According to the New York Post, Menendez’s wife started dating attorney Doug Anton in 2011 after splitting from her first husband – New Jersey developer Raffi Arslanian – in 2005.
Anton represented R. Kelly in the singer’s sex crimes and racketeering trial which ended with R. Kelly being found guilty and sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Arslanian reportedly started dating Menendez in 2018 after she called to wish the New Jersey senator a happy 64th birthday, although sources said that she did not immediately break things off with Anton.
According to the Post, Arslanian dated both Menendez and Anton “on and off” for the next several months.
Then, in May 2018, Menendez allegedly ordered two Capitol Police officers to visit Anton’s law office in Hackensack, New Jersey.
“He wanted to bully Doug out of the picture,” a source close to Anton said of the alleged incident.
Menendez ultimately proposed to Arslanian during a trip to India in 2019, and the couple married in Queens, New York in October 2020.
Sources close to Arslanian reportedly warned her about Menendez. One insider suggested that Arslanian would have married Anton if the New Jersey senator never entered the picture.
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“He sold her a dream,” the source said this week. “He really manipulated her. She thought she was going to marry Doug, but Menendez wooed her away. He manipulated her; he made her feel important. He was promising her the world.”
“She’s a victim,” Arslanian’s friend continued. “Trust me 110 percent, this guy manipulated the s--- out of her. He used her and manipulated her. As a senator, he’s a half-a--ed gangster.”
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As RadarOnline.com previously reported, both Menendez and his 56-year-old wife were indicted on three federal bribery charges on Friday, September 22.
The couple was charged with three counts: including conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion under the color of official right.
According to the indictment, Menendez and his wife allegedly accepted "hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for using Menendez's power and influence as Senator" between 2018 and 2022.
Federal agents reportedly found “over $480,000 in cash stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing” during a raid on the couple’s New Jersey home in June 2022.
The federal agents also reportedly seized 81.5 ounces of gold bars worth approximately $155,000 during the June 2022 raid.
Menendez has refused to resign from the Senate despite growing calls for him to step down due to the indictment.