Gold Bars Found at Sen. Bob Menendez's Home Linked to 2013 Armed Robbery of Millionaire, Says Prosecutors
Businessman accused of bribing Bob Menendez pleads guilty to seven criminal charges.
Dec. 5 2023, Published 3:00 p.m. ET
Four gold bars found at Sen. Bob Menendez's New Jersey home during a June 2022 FBI raid were reportedly linked to a 2013 armed robbery, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The gold bar's serial numbers allegedly matched those reported stolen by businessman Fred Daibes, who is accused of bribing the Democrat lawmaker.
Menendez has pleaded not guilty to 16 counts including bribery, obstruction of justice, acting as a foreign agent, and wire fraud.
Back in 2013, Daibes went to police and reported that four armed robbers broke into his Edgewater, New Jersey, home and made off with a treasure trove of stolen items, including $500,000 in cash and 22 gold bars, according to NBC News,
Daibes asked police to find the stolen gold bars that belonged to him. Police later tracked down four suspects and retrieved the looted goods.
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Sources said they were not surprised to learn Menendez could implicate his wife in his upcoming trial.
Bergen County prosecutor records revealed that Daibes was required to certify he was the owner of the gold bars by filling out "property release forms."
"Each gold bar has its own serial number," the businessman told investigations in a 2013 transcript. "They’re all stamped…you’ll never see two stamped the same way."
Now, a decade after police found and returned the precious loot to Daibes, four gold bars matching serial numbers from the 2013 robbery were allegedly located at the embattled senator's home.
Menendez claimed gold bars found during an FBI raid were inherited from his late mother-in-law.
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In October, Menendez was indicted on federal corruption charges related to an alleged bribery scheme involving Daibes, a real estate developer.
Menendez and his wife, Nadine, were charged with three counts of conspiracy in what the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York branded a "corrupt bribery agreement" that allegedly benefitted three businessmen, including Daibes, as well as the Egyptian government.
Daibes is accused of bribing the senator for personal favors, including interrupting a federal prosecution related to alleged bank fraud against him. Businessmen Wael Hana and Jose Uribe were also said to be involved in the years-long scheme.
Details on an agreement, if any, Uribe struck with the government in the case are unknown.
Prosecutors accuse Daibes of giving Menendez two gold bars, which weighed a kilogram each, in March 2022. At the time, the price for gold was $60,000 per kilogram.
Menendez's indictment also revealed that Daibes' fingerprints were found on an envelope stuffed with thousands of dollars that was recovered from the senator's home in the FBI raid.
In total, federal agents reportedly recovered 13 gold bars and $566,000 in cash stashed in coat pockets at Menendez's home.
Despite overwhelming calls from both sides of the aisle to resign over the bribery scandal, Menendez has refused. The senator denied all allegations against him.
Menendez faces 45 years behind bars if convicted.
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