Thursday, April 2, 2015

Senator Robert Menendez Pleads Not Guilty to Bribery Charges - New York Times




Senator Robert Menendez, right, arrived at Federal District Court in Newark on Thursday. Christopher Gregory for The New York Times

Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey pleaded not guilty on Thursday in federal court in Newark to charges that he exploited his political influence to gain luxury vacations, golf outings, campaign donations and inexpensive flights.


Mr. Menendez, a Democrat, was charged with eight bribery counts, each of which carries a possible sentence of 15 years in prison. Judge William H. Walls released Mr. Menendez on his own recognizance.


His indictment, the first federal bribery charges against a sitting senator in a generation, imperiled Mr. Menendez’s political future and exposed new channels for the wealthy to trade money for official favors.


The charges stem from Mr. Menendez’s relationship with Dr. Salomon E. Melgen, a wealthy Florida eye surgeon and political benefactor. Dr. Melgen, who resisted appeals by the Justice Department to testify against his friend, also pleaded not guilty to bribery charges Thursday at United States District Court in Newark.



The two men, seated about five feet apart at the defense table, mostly avoided eye contact, but nodded and whispered toward each other twice as they waited for the hearing to begin.



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Mr. Menendez was charged with eight counts of bribery, which carry up to 15 years in prison on each charge.




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A prosecutor, Peter Koski, appearing to make a statement about the strength of his case, said the government was “ready for trial at the earliest possible date.”


Shortly after, a lawyer for Mr. Menendez, Abbe Lowell, replied testily: “Sure, they have had the case for three years. We have had it for one day.”


Prosecutors have described efforts by Mr. Menendez and his staff to solicit gifts from Dr. Melgen, discover what he wanted in return and use their influence to try to satisfy his wishes.


Among the favors done for Dr. Melgen, prosecutors said, was a push by Mr. Menendez to get the Obama administration to change the Medicare reimbursement policy in a way that would generate more income for the surgeon. Prosecutors said he also promoted a port security deal that Dr. Melgen was involved in and helped the doctor’s foreign girlfriends secure travel visas to the United States.


Prosecutors cited emails showing that Mr. Menendez’s office took it upon itself to help mediate the doctor’s dispute with Medicare.


In one 2009 email, Mr. Menendez instructed a staff member to call Dr. Melgen immediately about “a Medicare problem we need to help him with.” Another email from a staff member noted that the office had been “working on the Melgen case every day.”


The two men have argued that they did not explicitly trade favors, but rather exchanged gifts as part of a longtime friendship.


Among the gifts Mr. Menendez received, prosecutors said, were trips on Dr. Melgen’s private jet and stays at his resort home in the Dominican Republic. On a 2010 trip to Paris, prosecutors said, Mr. Menendez realized how expensive a five-star hotel room would be, so he asked Dr. Melgen to book it using rewards points.


The indictment also cast a spotlight on the way the rise of super PACs, bolstered by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision and subsequent legal changes, has made it easier for the wealthy to trade campaign contributions for official favors.


Through his company, Vitreo-Retinal Consultants, Dr. Melgen directed $700,000 in corporate contributions to Majority PAC, a super PAC whose goal was to help Democrats retain control of the Senate. Dr. Melgen instructed the group to use those contributions to aid Mr. Menendez’s 2012 re-election campaign.





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