Ex-Police Chief Helped Senator Robert Menendez's Future Wife Flee Deadly Car Crash Scene Without Sobriety Test

A retired top policeman reportedly aided Nadine Arslanian, the wife of Senator Robert Menendez, in leaving the scene of a fatal car crash without undergoing a sobriety test or surrendering her phone, RadarOnline.com has learned.

The incident, which took place in Bogota, New Jersey, in December 2018, involved Arslanian crashing her black Mercedes into Richard Koop.

According to the New York Post, Michael Mordaga, the former director of Hackensack police and ex-chief of detectives in the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, arrived at the scene within minutes and assisted Arslanian in leaving the totaled car and retrieving her belongings. He conferred with the patrolman handling the crash on his planned course of action.

Dashcam footage and 911 recordings from the incident do not show Arslanian expressing concern for the victim, but they reveal her refusal to allow her cell phone to be searched. It also suggests that she did not call 911 until officers were already present at the scene and provided them with an incorrect location for the crash.

The Bogota Police Department recently released the footage of Arslanian being questioned after the incident. The video showed her shivering in a fur coat and short dress as a patrolman inquires about the death of Koop.

Arslanian, who was dating Menendez at the time of the crash, later married him in 2020.

The fatal collision resulted in Arslanian and Menendez facing bribery and corruption charges, which they both deny. It was part of a broader scandal involving accusations of accepting bribes and engaging in corruption.

According to records, Arslanian texted Wael Hana, an Egyptian-American businessman implicated in the bribery scheme a month after the crash, expressing the loss of her vehicle. Hana allegedly provided her with a 2019 Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible worth $60,000.

The footage from the crash scene shows Arslanian initially agreeing to allow officers to search her phone but then requesting an attorney to avoid saying anything incriminating.

Mordaga, who retired from law enforcement, appears in the footage and confirms that he does not personally know Arslanian but had been requested by a friend to assist her.

The post-crash coordination involved an unidentified friend helping Arslanian remove her belongings from the car. Mordaga also inquired about preparing a statement for the prosecutor's office. In the end, Arslanian left the scene without receiving a summons.

Though Arslanian's attorney declined to comment on the matter, both she and Menendez were indicted last month in Manhattan federal court along with three others for their alleged involvement in a bribery scheme.

Prosecutors argue that the couple had amassed significant assets at their home, including gold bars, cash worth nearly $500,000, and a new Mercedes convertible.

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Mordaga, who refused to comment when reached by phone, has been no stranger to controversy himself. He has been accused of leaking information leading to the execution of Frank Lagano, a reputed member of the Lucchese crime family.

While Mordaga denied any wrongdoing, the Lagano family's federal lawsuit against him and the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office was dismissed, and they have since appealed the ruling.

Additionally, Mordaga faced allegations in another federal complaint involving his failure to intervene in a domestic violence incident while still in charge of the Hackensack Police Department.