Current:Home > StocksWael Hana, co-defendant in Robert Menendez case, arrested at JFK-InfoLens
Wael Hana, co-defendant in Robert Menendez case, arrested at JFK
View Date:2024-12-23 19:17:22
One of three businessmen federally charged with coordinating hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey and his wife was arrested Tuesday after flying into New York.
Wael Hana, 40, was taken into custody at JFK Airport, according to the Associated Press. His attorney, Lawrence Lustberg, told CBS News in a statement that Hana "returned voluntarily from Egypt so that he would have the opportunity to prove his innocence which we are confident he will be able to do after a full and fair trial."
Hana, a New Jersey resident originally from Egypt, was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, according to U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Prosecutors allege Menendez and his wife, Nadine Menendez, accepted bribes in exchange for using the senator's power and influence to enrich and protect Hana and the two other indicted businessmen, as well as benefit Egypt's government.
Menendez chaired the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee until he stepped down last week following his indictment, as required under Senate Democratic Caucus rules.
The alleged bribes included cash, gold bars, mortgage payments and compensation, the indictment reads, and federal agents found more than $480,000 in cash during a search of the couple's home in June 2022.
Beginning in 2018, according to prosecutors, Hana and Nadine Menendez "worked to introduce Egyptian intelligence and military officials to" the senator with the goal of establishing a "corrupt agreement."
Among the allegations was that Hana hired Nadine Menendez at his halal meat export certification company, IS EG Halal Certified, for a "low-or-no-show" position, in exchange for the senator facilitating foreign military sales and financing to Egypt, which had been withheld for years, the indictment read.
Menendez also in 2019 intervened to protect a monopoly for Hana's company which led to increased costs for U.S. meat suppliers and others, the charging documents said. The monopoly in turn provided a revenue stream for the bribes, prosecutors said.
Nearly two dozen Senate Democrats have called on Menendez to step down, but he has so far rejected those calls, saying that he will "be exonerated."
The other two New Jersey businessmen charged in the case, 56-year-old Jose Uribe of Clifton, New Jersey, and 66-year-old Fred Daibes, face the same charges as Hana.
If convicted as charged, Hana could face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the bribery count, and 20 years in prison for the fraud count.
— Melissa Quinn, Caroline Linton and Stefan Becket contributed to this report.
- In:
- New Jersey
- Fraud
- Robert Menendez
- Egypt
veryGood! (333)
Related
- Satire publication The Onion acquires Alex Jones' Infowars at auction
- Abortion and open primaries are on the ballot in Nevada. What to know about the key 2024 measures
- Illinois Democrats look to defend congressional seats across the state
- Zooey Deschanel Shares the 1 Gift She'd Give Her Elf Character
- Cruise ship rescues 4 from disabled catamaran hundreds of miles off Bermuda, officials say
- Travis Kelce, Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber and More Stars Who've Met the President Over the Years
- 3-term Democratic lawmaker tries to hold key US Senate seat in GOP-friendly Montana
- North Carolina’s top lawyer and No. 2 executive are vying for governor
- Georgia's humbling loss to Mississippi leads college football winners and losers for Week 11
- Ruby slippers from ‘The Wizard of Oz’ are for sale nearly 2 decades after they were stolen
Ranking
- Vermont man is fit to stand trial over shooting of 3 Palestinian college students
- Za'Darius Smith trade grades: Who won deal between Lions, Browns?
- Jason Kelce apologizes for role in incident involving heckler's homophobic slur
- Lisa Blunt Rochester could make history with a victory in Delaware’s US Senate race
- 32-year-old Maryland woman dies after golf cart accident
- Rudy Giuliani ordered to appear in court after missing deadline to turn over assets
- 3-term Democrat Sherrod Brown tries to hold key US Senate seat in expensive race
- GOP Rep. Andy Ogles faces a Tennessee reelection test as the FBI probes his campaign finances
Recommendation
-
John Robinson, successful football coach at USC and with the LA Rams, has died at 89
-
Ex-Ohio police officer found guilty of murder in 2020 Andre Hill shooting
-
Zooey Deschanel Shares the 1 Gift She'd Give Her Elf Character
-
Democrats defend Michigan’s open Senate seat, a rare opportunity for Republicans
-
Study finds Wisconsin voters approved a record number of school referenda
-
Zooey Deschanel Shares the 1 Gift She'd Give Her Elf Character
-
John Barrasso, Wyoming’s high-ranking Republican U.S. senator, seeks 3rd full term
-
Selena Gomez Claps Back at “Sick” Body-Shaming Comments After Emilia Perez Premiere