BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. The New York Times has published a sensational article detailing how the scandalous Senator Robert Menendez, a well-known Armenian lobbyist in the US, charged in corruption, defended his Armenian wife Nadine Arslanian from a murder accusation several years ago, Trend reports.
In December 2018, Arslanian fatally hit a resident of New Jersey, while driving a Mercedes. After a brief police investigation, it was determined that Arslanian was not at fault in the accident. So, she was released without any legal proceedings. Nearly five years later, this revelation has added a remarkable dimension to the scandal that has already rocked US politics and raised new concerns about the senator's involvement in the incident.
"According to the prosecution, Arslanian urgently needed a car after the 'accident' in December 2018. Allegedly, Menendez was willing to intervene in an unrelated criminal case on behalf of a New Jersey businessman in exchange for a $60,000 worth Mercedes. Suspicions related to this incident were apparent at the time," the article said.
"A conversation with a witness at the scene revealed that officers apparently recognized the senator's wife and treated her with great respect. Police records captured a man who identified himself as a retired police officer from a neighboring department, claiming that he had arrived at the scene as a 'favor' to a friend, whose wife knew Miss Menendez," the article stated.
Notably, police reports indicate that the senator's wife did not undergo a drug or alcohol test, and she was allowed to leave the scene shortly before the victim's death in a nearby hospital. Three days later, investigators were sent to local bars to gather additional information about the whereabouts of the deceased in the hours leading up to his death.
As the newspaper emphasized, one of the witnesses of the incident claimed in his testimony that he heard Arslanian repeatedly and loudly declare to the police that she was "going to call a very important person."
"I remember one of the officers asking another in surprise: Do we really have to let her go? Not even detain her?" the article noted, citing a witness.
The article author reminded that it was Arslanian who introduced her future husband to her friend of Egyptian descent, from whom Menendez later received bribes, laying the foundation for the corruption scheme that federal prosecutors in the US are currently investigating.