Sen. Menendez raised additional $195K for defense fund. See who made contributions

Sen. Bob Menendez has raised an additional $195,000 from executives, real estate developers and others for his legal defense fund, bringing the total to $469,500 that he can use to cover legal expenses related to federal bribery charges he and his wife face.

In the last three months of 2023, donors wrote checks for $10,000 — the maximum someone can donate a year to his legal expense fund — including Paul Fireman, the former CEO of Reebok and owner of the Liberty National Golf Course, who is involved in a controversial plan to develop Liberty State Park; Raul Alarcon, CEO of the Spanish Broadcasting System; CEO and cigar maker Carlos P. Fuente Jr.; and Albert Hegyi, chairman, president and CEO of 1st Financial Bank USA.

These donations were made after the indictment was unsealed on Sept. 22.

Previously: Bob Menendez has raised nearly $275K to fight federal corruption charges, report says

Also pitching in $10,000 was KRE Property Management Company, run by Jonathan Kushner, the cousin of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, according to the year-end report made public on the IRS website on Wednesday.

The company gave $40,000 to Menendez’s legal expense fund that he set up in early 2014 when he was accused of accepting bribes in exchange to promote the interests of his longtime friend, Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen. A trial on the corruption charges ended in a mistrial. The judge acquitted Menendez and Melgen on some of the charges and prosecutors dropped the remainder of the charges a week later.

His previous account raised more than $5.1 million between early 2014 and the end of 2018.

Between when his new account was founded on July 14, 2023 and the end of December, the Menendez Legal Defense Fund spent more than $373,000, the bulk to legal firms such as Schertler Onorato LLP, Winston & Strawn LLP and Elias Law Group; and computer forensics company HaystackID LLC. He spent $2,000 on fundraising consultants.

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Menendez’s wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, recently hired Mark MacDougall with the firm Schertler Onorato Mead & Sears, who previously represented Bijan Rafiekian, a former business partner to former President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who was accused of illegally lobbying on behalf of the Turkish government.

Last year, NorthJersey.com reported other donors including South Jersey powerbroker George Norcross and his two children, Alessandra — chair and founder of PhillyVoice — and Alexander, associate at Mid Penn Bank.

Related: This cast of characters has been linked to the Sen. Menendez investigation

Meanwhile, Menendez's Senate campaign account holds about $6.2 million, though fundraising has slowed. In the third quarter, he raised $15,700 from donors, refunded $16,000 and spent $2.4 million – most of which went to law firms.

His Senate campaign paid $1 million to Paul Hastings LLP, $654,000 to Winston & Strawn LLP, $300,000 to Schertler & Onorato LLP, $200,000 to Jones Day and $175,000 to McDermott Will & Emery LLP.

The federal indictment alleges that between 2018 and 2022, Menendez and his wife “engaged in a corrupt relationship" with three New Jersey businessmen (who were also charged) who paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for Menendez using his “power and influence to protect, to enrich those businessmen and to benefit the government of Egypt.” Bribes allegedly included cash, gold bars, payments toward a home mortgage, compensation for a low- or no-show job and a Mercedes-Benz.

In a superceding indictment, prosecutors allege Menendez accepted gifts, including race car tickets, from Qatar, and bribes from real estate developer Fred Daibes to help persuade an investment company with ties to the Qatari government to invest in a Daibes property.

Menendez denies the charges.

To see the full list of donors, view the chart below:

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bob Menendez raises additional $195K for defense fund