Sen. Bob Menendez took luxury watches, gold bars to help pal cut deal with Qatari investors, feds say

NEW YORK — Manhattan federal prosecutors hit Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey on Tuesday with fresh corruption charges, saying he abused his powerful position to help out an associate seeking millions from a fund with ties to the Qatari government in exchange for gold bars and flashy watches.

In an updated indictment, the feds also say Menendez’s bribery scheme stretched over a longer time period than under the original charges brought in September.

Menendez, a Democrat and former head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is accused of taking bribes from real estate developer Fred Daibes between 2021 and 2023 in exchange for boosting the government of Qatar, which was linked to an investment fund with which Daibes sought to do business.

Daibes at the time of the payments was fighting bank fraud charges by federal prosecutors in New Jersey — and was also seeking cash to fund a lucrative Garden State real estate project.

Around then, Menendez introduced Daibes to an unidentified member of the Qatari royal family who headed the investment firm he ultimately sought funding from, say federal prosecutors.

Menendez publicly praised the Qatari government as the Qatari investment firm considered Daibes’ real estate venture, federal prosecutors allege. The senator sent Daibes a proposed news release in August 2021 praising the Qataris and suggested Daibes share it with Qatari officials and a representative of the investment firm.

“You might want to send to them. I am just about to release,” Menendez is quoted saying to Daibes in a text message.

A month later, Mendendez and Daibes attended a private function in Manhattan hosted by Qatari officials, the feds say. Days after that, Daibes texted the senator pictures of luxury watches in the price range of $9,990 to $23,990 and asked him, “How about one of these.”

Two days after sending him the pictures of watches, Daibes sent Menendez a link to Senate resolution supporting Qatar that had been referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the feds say.

Those communications between Daibes and Menendez came several weeks after Menendez returned from a trip to Qatar and Egypt, and allegedly googled: “how much is one kilo of gold worth.”

When Menendez returned from that overseas trip, Daibes’ driver picked him up on the tarmac at John F. Kennedy Airport, the feds say.

Menendez and his wife, Nadine, were charged with with bribery and corruption offenses in September for allegedly accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of bribes from Daibes and two other New Jersey businessmen in the form of gold bullion bars, stacks of cash, and a sports car.

Menendez is accused of taking the bribes in exchange for advancing corrupt Egyptian business interests.

In October, the feds brought a new charge alleging Menendez conspired to act as an unregistered agent for the Egyptian government behind the scenes. He’s pleaded not guilty to all allegations and has refused calls to resign from the Senate.

Menendez could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.

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