NJ AG investigates police response to fatal crash involving Menendez's wife

author: FutureCar Staff    

The New Jersey Attorney General's Office is currently conducting an investigation into the police handling of a fatal car crash that occurred in 2018 involving Nadine Arslanian, the wife of Senator Bob Menendez. Arslanian struck Richard Koop, a 49-year-old man, in Bogota, New Jersey on December 12, 2018. At the time of the incident, Arslanian was dating Senator Menendez, although they were not yet married. Both Arslanian and Senator Menendez are now facing charges related to felony bribery and corruption crimes.

Following the crash in 2018, the Bogota Police arrived at the scene to question Arslanian. She claimed that Koop had been jaywalking and had put himself in the path of her car. The New York Post reported that Michael Mordaga, a former director of Hackensack Police and ex-chief of detectives in the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office, was also present at the scene.

Surprisingly, Arslanian was allowed to leave the scene without undergoing a sobriety test or providing her phone records. She was never charged in relation to the crash and was later given a new convertible Mercedes as a replacement for her damaged vehicle.

Recently, The New York Times revealed that an inquiry has been launched into the handling of the case, with a specific focus on whether Arslanian was treated too leniently or quickly. Koop's family has long maintained that the incident was not thoroughly investigated.

Dashcam footage from the crash scene shows Arslanian wearing a dress and fur coat while speaking with a police officer. Although Mordaga was not visible in the video, his voice can be heard in the background.

In addition to Arslanian, Senator Menendez has also been charged in an alleged bribery scheme. According to federal charging documents, Arslanian texted Wael Hana, an Egyptian American businessman involved in the bribery scheme, expressing her frustration over not having a car.

Prosecutors claim that Hana and another defendant, Jose Uribe, provided Arslanian with $15,000 in cash as a down payment for a new Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible worth $60,000, as well as covering the monthly financing payments. The car was registered in March 2019. Arslanian thanked Uribe for his assistance in a text message, stating, "I will never forget this," according to the federal indictment.

The allegations against Senator Menendez involve him attempting to interfere in a New Jersey criminal investigation on behalf of Hana and Uribe in exchange for the Mercedes. Menendez and his wife have pleaded not guilty to the federal charges, which revolve around bribery and extortion allegations related to the Egyptian government.

Despite calls from his fellow Democratic Party members to step down, Senator Menendez has chosen to remain in office. However, he has temporarily stepped down as the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee since the charges were unsealed last month.

The indictment against Menendez states that he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars between 2018 and 2022 from Hana, Uribe, and Fred Daibes in exchange for using his power and influence to benefit the businessmen and the Government of Egypt.

FutureCar Staff