Current:Home > FinanceNew Jersey businessman pleads guilty and agrees to cooperate in case against Sen. Bob Menendez-InfoLens
New Jersey businessman pleads guilty and agrees to cooperate in case against Sen. Bob Menendez
View Date:2024-12-23 17:25:24
NEW YORK (AP) — A New Jersey businessman pleaded guilty Friday to trying to bribe U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, after signing a cooperation deal with prosecutors.
Jose Uribe entered the plea in Manhattan federal court to seven charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, honest services wire fraud, obstruction of justice and tax evasion. Prosecutors allege that he gave Menendez’s wife a Mercedes-Benz.
According to a plea agreement, Uribe could face up to 95 years in prison, though he could win leniency by cooperating and testifying against the other defendants, which he’s agreed to do.
Uribe was among three businessmen charged in the corruption case against the New Jersey Democrat and his wife, Nadine Menendez, which was revealed early last fall. Authorities say Menendez and his wife accepted bribes of cash, gold bars and the luxury car in exchange for his help and influence over foreign affairs.
The defendants have pleaded not guilty.
Uribe had been charged with providing Menendez’s wife with a Mercedes-Benz convertible after the senator called a government official about another case involving an associate of Uribe.
Uribe’s attorney, Daniel Fetterman, declined to comment.
Menendez, his wife and the two other New Jersey businessmen are scheduled to go on trial in May.
Federal prosecutors allege that Menendez, the former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, used his position to take actions that benefited foreign governments in exchange for bribes paid by associates in New Jersey.
An indictment contends that Menendez and his wife took gold bars and cash from a real estate developer, and that the senator used his clout to get that businessman a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund.
Menendez is also accused of helping another New Jersey business associate get a lucrative deal with the government of Egypt. Prosecutors allege that in exchange for bribes, Menendez did things that benefited Egypt, including ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators encouraging them to lift a hold on $300 million in aid.
Uribe was accused of buying a luxury car for Nadine Menendez after her previous car was destroyed when she struck and killed a man crossing the street. She did not face criminal charges in connection with that crash.
The indictment says the senator helped Uribe by trying to persuade prosecutors to go easy on one of his business associates who was the subject of a criminal investigation.
veryGood! (59)
Related
- Michael Jordan and driver Tyler Reddick come up short in bid for NASCAR championship
- Families still hope to meet with Biden as first National Hostage Day flag is raised
- Iowa vs. Michigan: Caitlin Clark leads Hawkeyes to Big Ten tournament final
- Scarlett Johansson plays Katie Britt in 'SNL' skit, Ariana Grande performs with help of mom Joan
- Is Veterans Day a federal holiday? Here's what to know for November 11
- No recoverable oil is left in the water from sheen off Southern California coast, officials say
- Krystyna Pyszková of Czech Republic crowned in 2024 Miss World pageant
- Officer fired after man’s 2021 death following stun gun use ordered reinstated by arbitrator
- Kyle Richards Shares an Amazing Bottega Dupe From Amazon Along With Her Favorite Fall Trends
- Walmart expands same-day delivery hours: You can get products as early as 6 a.m.
Ranking
- Why Dolly Parton Is a Fan of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's Little Love Affair
- Muslims welcome the holy month of Ramadan with a mix of joy and deep concern
- Judge tosses challenge of Arizona programs that teach non-English speaking students
- 80 years after D-Day, a World War II veteran is getting married near beaches where US troops landed
- Federal judge orders Oakland airport to stop using ‘San Francisco’ in name amid lawsuit
- 2024 starting pitcher rankings: Spencer Strider, Gerrit Cole rule the mound
- Iowa's Caitlin Clark breaks Steph Curry's NCAA record for 3-pointers in a season
- The Wild Case of Scattered Body Parts and a Suspected Deadly Love Triangle on Long Island
Recommendation
-
Biden funded new factories and infrastructure projects, but Trump might get to cut the ribbons
-
See the Flamin' Hot Cast of Desperate Housewives Then and Now
-
Bradley Cooper Twins With Mom Gloria Campano On 2024 Oscars Red Carpet
-
5 people killed in Gaza as aid package parachute fails to deploy, officials and witness say
-
Olivia Munn Randomly Drug Tests John Mulaney After Mini-Intervention
-
Permanent daylight saving time? Politicians keep trying to make it a reality.
-
Coast Guard investigates oil spill spotted in California off Huntington Beach's coast
-
A TV show cooking segment featured a chef frying fish. It ended up being a near-extinct species – and fishermen were furious.