From Russia with love: The Menendez trial will rival anything going on in Washington | Mulshine

Let us turn away for a moment from the great show going on in Washington  and look for a moment at a show taking place in Newark.

That's the Bob Menendez show.

 Our senior senator is about to go on trial on corruption charges in a case that has a little bit of everything that makes life in this democracy so fascinating: parties in the tropics, a mysterious and beautiful  Russian woman named Svitlana,  and a big dose of Palm Beach high life.

That life was led by Salomon Melgen, an eye doctor who is truly larger than life.

Unfortunately, the bills he submitted to Medicare were also larger than life.   In April, he was convicted by a jury in Palm Beach on 67 counts stemming from his practice of billing Medicare for as much as $20 million a year for some highly questionable treatments.  

The 67-year-old Melgen is due to be sentenced on Aug. 11 to a prison term that might amount to a life sentence. He could get even more time if he's found guilty in the Sept. 6 trial in Newark, in which he is a co-defendant with the senator.

http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2 ... ndez_trial_will_riva.html

Menendez donor, Fla. eye doctor guilty on all counts of Medicare fraud

By The Associated Press
on April 28, 2017 at 3:29 PM, updated April 28, 2017 at 4:35 PM

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- A prominent Florida eye doctor has been convicted on all counts in his Medicare fraud trial, raising the possibility he could be pressured to testify in the bribery trial of New Jersey Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez.

Jurors announced their verdict Friday for Dr. Salomon Melgen. He effectively faces a life sentence if no deal is struck. Menendez denies any wrongdoing.

Prosecutors contended that the 62-year-old Melgen stole up to $105 million from the federal insurance program between 2008 and 2013, by giving patients treatments and tests that couldn't help them.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2017 ... guilty_on_all_counts.html

Supreme Court refuses to dismiss Menendez corruption charges

POLITICO - By John Bresnahan  03/20/17 10:48 AM EDT

The Supreme Court has rejected Sen. Bob Menendez's attempt to throw out the bribery and corruption charges against him, setting the stage for a trial for the New Jersey Democrat this fall.

With Monday's announcement, Menendez can no longer block the proceedings against him from moving forward, a major setback for his efforts to avoid criminal trial.

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/03 ... corruption-charges-236252

Feds renew contested allegations in Menendez case

By Thomas Moriarty | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
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on October 10, 2016 at 4:06 PM, updated October 10, 2016 at 7:30 PM

NEWARK — More than a year after a judge dismissed four counts of bribery in the corruption case against U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez and Florida ophthalmologist Dr. Salomon Melgen, a federal grand jury Thursday renewed the accusations in a superseding indictment.

Menendez, a Democrat from Paramus, was originally indicted in April 2015 along with Melgen, who prosecutors allege gave the senator more than $1 million in gifts and campaign contributions in exchange for Menendez intervening in federal matters involving Melgen.

The bribery charges returned in Thursday's superseding indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court in Newark, concern a $20,000 payment Melgen made to the Fund to Uphold the U.S. Constitution, a trust formed by the senator "to defray the outstanding costs of a politically charged recall effort," according to a motion filed by Menendez's defense team in July 2015.

Read more:  http://www.nj.com/crime/index.ssf/201 ... s.html#incart_river_index

Sen. Menendez has been busy working since his indictment | Political Insider

By Agustin C. Torres | The Jersey Journal
February 13, 2016 at 7:09 AM

The Hudson County raised and trained Big Bad Bob has been extremely busy. It is almost as if since his indictment on federal corruption charges U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez has kicked his legislative work and senior legislative influence into high gear.

Let's just take a look at the past week as an example. On Monday it was about Flint, Michigan and the lead-laced drinking water in the Wolverine State's city. Menendez and fellow Garden State Sen. Cory Booker, as well as U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr. of Paterson, all Democrats, said they will introduce bills in Congress that will call for upgrading the nation's (and that means Jersey too) less than stellar water systems.

"Flint has taught us all that ignoring our aging water infrastructure has dire consequences," said Sen. Menendez. "We've under invested in our infrastructure, certainly we've under invested in water systems, and now we're paying the price ..."

Just put it on the list of the many things that are "under" in the nation.

Read more:  http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2 ... dc_since_his_indictm.html

Doctor in Menendez corruption case to stay in jail

By The Associated Press The Associated Press 
May 08, 2015 at  5:23 PM

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.  — A Florida doctor charged with corruption alongside New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez has been ordered to remain jailed while awaiting trial for alleged Medicare fraud.

Attorneys for 60-year-old Salomon Melgen said their client posed no risk of fleeing. But U.S. Magistrate Judge James Hopkins sided Friday with prosecutors who said the ophthalmologist's extraordinary wealth gave him a chance to go anywhere in the world, particularly his native Dominican Republic, where he has close ties to government officials.

A 76-count indictment claims Melgen falsely diagnosed patients with eye conditions that allowed him to perform unnecessary and costly procedures. He has pleaded not guilty to those charges, as well as those in the separate New Jersey case, in which he's accused of swapping donations and vacations for favors from Menendez.

http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/ ... in_jail.html#incart_river

Dershowitz says Menendez indictment related to senator's foreign policy views

By Matthew Speiser | The Jersey Journal The Jersey Journal
April 12, 2015 at  6:58 PM

SECAUCUS - Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz believes New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez may have been indicted by the Obama administration due to differing stances on foreign policy.

"Senator Menendez has challenged the Administration's policy toward Cuba, expressed concerns over a nuclear deal being brokered with Iran, questioned why an agency would condone throwing good medicine in the garbage, and asked whether a foreign government or the private sector is better at port security," writes Dershowitz in a post on policy forum the Gatestone Institute titled "Dangers to Democracy in the Prosecution of Senator Menendez". "Senators should not have to fear that the Executive Branch will unleash prosecutors to go after politicians who are critical of the administration."

Menendez was indicted earlier this month on charges of corruption and bribery stemming from his relationship with friend and Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen. Menendez, the former mayor of Union City and chair of the Hudson County Democratic Organization, has been accused of accepting close to $1 million dollars in gifts from Melgen in exchange for using his political clout to help Melgen businesses and get three of Melgen's girlfriend's US visas.

Read more:  http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... _to_sen.html#incart_river