Newly released police documents show that in December 2018, Senator Bob Menendez’s now-wife hit and killed a pedestrian. Federal prosecutors have portrayed the alleged gift of a new Mercedes to Menendez, D-N.J., and Nadine Arslanian four months after the event as part of a bribery plan to capitalize on Menendez’s status and influence.
According to the official report, Arslanian’s Mercedes was severely damaged in the deadly crash. The collision, which occurred on the evening of December 12th, 2018, in the town of Bogota in New Jersey, was originally reported by the Record newspaper of Bergen and The New York Times on Wednesday.
According to dashcam footage acquired by NBC New York, an uninvolved Arslanian reported to police that she was driving along Main Street when a guy, subsequently identified as Richard Koop, “jumped on my windshield.”
Police records obtained by NBC News indicate that shortly after 7:30 p.m., Koop was found lying in the road with “severe head trauma, bleeding from the back of his head, bleeding from the face, and possibly fractured legs and arms.” The responding officer also described Koop as being unconscious and not breathing.
When police arrived, Arslanian had hit a parked car and was “bleeding from her hands” following her encounter with Koop. The man in the street prompted the question, “Why is he there? According to the footage from the dashboard camera, she informed officers, “I didn’t do anything wrong, you know?”
Arslanian was also questioned if police might check her phone with her permission. “Ms. Arslanian originally reported I may search her phone, handed me her phone, then shortly after reported she no longer gives consent for a cellular phone search. I immediately returned Ms. Arslanian’s phone back to her,” one of the officers said in a report.
Officers claim Arslanian told them Koop “darted across traffic and jumped onto her vehicle” and that “she did not observe Mr. Koop prior to striking him with her vehicle.” t was determined by the police that Arslanian was not at fault and that “Mr. Koop was jaywalking and did not cross the street at an intersection or in a marked crosswalk.”
Arslanian was not subjected to any kind of drug or alcohol testing according to the police report. After being interrogated by police, she was reportedly released to “a friend.” Attorney Sheri Breen for the Koop family said that Arslanian delayed calling 911 for many minutes.
“She let him lie on the ground and she took some time to sit there watching before she backed up, moved her car again, and then drove around him,” Breen told NBC New York. After a night out with the gang, Breen reported that Koop got an Uber home. “He just had to cross the street to get to his home when the defendant came barreling down the street and struck him,” Breen explained.
She stated that despite Arslanian and Menendez’s knowledge of the Koop family’s payment from Arslanian’s insurance firm, they never contacted the Koop family. When asked for comment, Arslanian’s attorney did not immediately respond. In a statement to the Times, attorney David Schertler described the incident as a “tragic accident.“
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He told the publication that the event was unrelated to the federal accusations she is facing since “my understanding was this individual ran in front of her car, and she was not at fault.” On Capitol Hill on Wednesday, Menendez told reporters, “it was a tragic accident and obviously we think of the family.” He has been asked to resign by scores of his Democratic colleagues.
According to the police report, Arslanian’s automobile had “heavy front end damage due to the collision” and “her front windshield was shattered and had damage on the passenger side,” the latter of which was traced back to a parked car she hit after colliding with Mr. Koop.
After a stunning indictment was presented against Menendez, his wife, and their accused co-conspirators last month, news of the unreported collision has emerged. The FBI claims that in February of 2018, Arslanian began dating Menendez and shortly after introduced him to New Jersey businessman Wael Hana, who had links to the Egyptian government.
Jose Uribe, a businessman and defendant in the bribery plot, was reportedly introduced to the couple by Hana. Four of them have entered not guilty pleas. An auto collision in or around December 2018 rendered Arslanian’s vehicle unusable, according to the indictment. She often texted Hana “about her lack of a car” beginning in or around January 2019.
In January, only weeks after the deadly crash, Arslanian, Menendez, Hana, and Uribe allegedly made a deal wherein Menendez would contact a prosecutor in an effort to aid a friend of Uribe’s “in exchange for a car.” The indictment states that Menendez committed this act. According to the FBI, Hana and Uribe subsequently helped Arslanian get a convertible Mercedes-Benz for the sum of $60,000.
According to the indictment, Arslanian made a down payment that included $15,000 in cash from Uribe when he purchased the property in April of this year. Prosecutors claim that Uribe subsequently paid the monthly finance installments.
Prosecutors claim that she sent Menendez a photograph of the automobile through text message after she had it. With a heart emoji, she congratulated her boyfriend on their recent purchase of a 2019 Mercedes.
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