WASHINGTON — A jury convicted Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., on all counts in a sweeping corruption case accusing the longtime lawmaker of using his office to enrich himself and his business associates and further the political aims of foreign governments.
Menendez is a longtime member of the Senate Banking Committee. He
He becomes the seventh senator in history to be charged and convicted with a federal crime.
The jury also found two businessmen accused of bribing the senator,
Daibes founded and was formerly CEO and chairman of the $414 million-asset Mariner's Bank in Edgewater, N.J., which was bought by nearby Spencer Savings Bank in 2021 for an undisclosed cash payout.
According to court documents, Daibes used friends and relatives to secure millions of dollars in loans without the knowledge of Mariner's Bank or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. between 2008 and 2013. Prosecutors say associates would obtain loans from the bank and turn the funds over to Daibes, then submit falsified documents to hide the fact that Daibes was the ultimate beneficiary. In some instances, Daibes was said to have voted to approve the loans as a member of the bank's loan committee.
Should Menendez step down from the Senate, it would complicate
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the Senate Majority leader, has called on Menendez to resign.
"In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate and our country, and resign," he said in a statement.
