Senator Robert Menendez has been at the center of a corruption scandal, with headlines focusing on the discovery of $480,000 in cash and 13 bars of gold during a search of his house in New Jersey. Menendez explained that he routinely withdrew large sums of money from his savings account, a practice he picked up from his Cuban immigrant parents. His lawyers now claim that this habit stems from deep psychological trauma related to his father’s suicide and his family history of property confiscations in Cuba.
Menendez’s father was a compulsive gambler who committed suicide after Menendez stopped paying off his gambling debts, according to his lawyers. A psychiatrist, Dr. Karen B. Rosenbaum, evaluated Menendez and found that his father’s death and his family’s experiences as Cuban refugees left him with a “fear of scarcity” leading to his habit of hoarding cash. The prosecutors are seeking to prevent Dr. Rosenbaum from testifying in Menendez’s upcoming corruption trial, arguing that her opinions lack scientific credibility.
The upcoming trial in Manhattan will see Menendez facing federal corruption charges for allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for using his influence to help allies in New Jersey and governments in Egypt and Qatar. He will be tried alongside two New Jersey businessmen also involved in the bribery conspiracy. Menendez’s wife, Nadine Menendez, was separately charged but granted a trial due to health concerns. All defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges outlined in the 66-page indictment.
The discovery of cash, gold bars, and a Mercedes-Benz convertible during a search of Menendez’s home in 2022 raised eyebrows. Menendez claimed that the cash withdrawals were for emergencies due to his family’s history of confiscation in Cuba. Prosecutors, however, noted that some of the cash was withdrawn in amounts exceeding $10,000 from a bank where neither Menendez nor his wife had an account, suggesting it was provided by another person.
Born to Cuban immigrant parents who fled the country before Fidel Castro’s rule, Menendez grew up in a tenement apartment in Union City, New Jersey. His father’s death when Menendez was 23 left a lasting impact on him, given his father’s gambling habits. Menendez’s mother worked as a seamstress, and he has often spoken about his upbringing and the challenges his family faced as refugees in the United States. The trial is set to commence soon, with Menendez and his co-defendants maintaining their innocence.
