Noticias

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In a letter written from prison, former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez sought to walk back his defense strategy at trial that blamed his wife, Nadine, for his role in a bribery conspiracy — and pleaded with a federal judge to show her mercy when she is sentenced next month.

“I regret that I didn’t fully preview what my defense attorney said about Nadine during my trial and in his summation,” Menendez wrote. “To suggest that Nadine was money-hungry or in financial need, and therefore would solicit others for help, is simply wrong. If justice tempered by mercy is to mean anything, Nadine should not be imprisoned. There are more compassionate and equitable sentences that would still serve the cause of justice.”

Nadine Menendez was convicted of conspiring with her husband to accept bribes, including cash, gold bars, and a luxury Mercedes-Benz. Bob Menendez resigned from the Senate in July 2024 and began serving an eleven-year prison sentence in June 2025. After several delays, U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein is scheduled to sentence Nadine Menendez on September 11.

The government is seeking an eight-year prison term, while Nadine’s attorneys are arguing for just one year. A medical expert retained by the defense has warned that no U.S. prison facility is equipped to provide the specialized treatment Nadine needs for breast cancer.

“A sentence anywhere near the 96 months recommended by the Probation Department will ensure that Nadine Menendez dies in prison,” her attorneys wrote in a partially redacted letter to Judge Stein.

Defense lawyers — Sarah Krissoff, Catherine Yun, and Andrew Vazquez — also contend that the government’s recommendation is disproportionate compared to similar cases. They cite the one-year sentence given to Maureen McDonnell, the wife of former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell, and argue that co-defendants Wael Hanna and Fred Daines received “disparate sentences not commensurate with their level of culpability.”

In court filings, Nadine’s attorneys and husband painted a portrait of a woman shaped by trauma and hardship.

“She is a deeply traumatized woman,” one lawyer wrote. “Her entire life has been marked by men who have taken advantage of her and harmed her in myriad ways.”

Bob Menendez described his wife as a successful businesswoman, devoted mother, and cancer patient fighting for her life. He recounted her family’s escape from Lebanon during the country’s civil war and her father’s abduction.

“She had nightmares about the children she saw dying, as they picked up explosive devices they thought were toys,” Menendez wrote.

He also blamed some of her struggles on an abusive former relationship, saying that a severe beating caused lasting brain injuries.

“Taken as a whole, my wife has already suffered more than most people in a lifetime,” Menendez said. “She has lost everything she cared about. I am incarcerated and can no longer help her or be her caregiver. She has lost her charitable work, her social standing, and has endured family strife as a result of the government’s actions — including the seizure of family possessions and closure of accounts.”

Menendez also complained that jewelry seized from their Englewood Cliffs home was largely inherited from Nadine’s late mother and other relatives, questioning why the government has not returned those items.

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A week after two South Jersey Transportation Authority commissioners were indicted for allegedly using their positions to retaliate against Mercer County Commissioner John Cimino (D-Hamilton)’s engineering firm in 2023, SJTA officials are pushing back on the idea that the authority ever was party to any wrongdoing.

In response to questions from the New Jersey Globe, SJTA spokesperson David Zappariello declined to directly comment on the indictments against sitting Commissioner Christopher Milam and former Commissioner Bryan Bush. He did, however, defend the SJTA against accusations that the board has ever improperly denied payments to Cimino or any other vendor.

“It is important to emphasize that the Authority has never inappropriately delayed or refused payment to any vendor,” Zappariello said. “All vendor work is subject to a thorough review process prior to payment.”

According to the indictment, after Cimino declined to align with the South Jersey Democratic organization in the race for Mercer County Executive, Milam and Bush conspired to block payments to Cimino’s firm by voting no at three SJTA meetings in spring 2023. (Five yes votes are required for payment approval on the nine-member board.)

“They cut South Jersey in Mercer County so now we vote no,” Milam allegedly texted Bush prior to the votes.

Zappariello, however, said today that the delay in approval for Cimino’s payment stemmed from commissioner absences, and the payment was approved when enough commissioners were present at a later meeting.

“At the times when these payment votes were initially presented, there were not enough Commissioners present to meet the voting threshold of five affirmative votes for payment of the bills presented by the engineering firm,” he said. “Once additional Commissioners of the Board were present at a subsequent Board meeting, the bills were brought forward again and subsequently approved.”

“A separate matter arose involving an error identified in the engineering firm’s work on a specific project,” he added. “The Authority and the firm entered into a mutually agreed-upon settlement to resolve the issue.”

Zappariello’s statement, however, seems to leave one key point unclear: whether there there fewer than five commissioners present at the meetings, meaning that the payment couldn’t have been approved regardless of what Milam and Bush did, or whether the five-vote threshold wasn’t met because Milam and Bush voted no.

While the indictment refers to a Mercer County Executive campaign that’s been over for more than two years, it’s become part of a broader fight between Attorney General Matt Platkin and the South Jersey Democratic organization. Platkin said he intends to “hold to account” those who (allegedly) use their official positions for political retribution; Milam claimed that Platkin is simply using the indictments as a substitute for prosecuting South Jersey boss George Norcross.

“Matt Platkin is a political hack who threw his fishing line and bobber into the deep sea to catch a whale,” Milam said after the indictment was released. “Now he has resorted to netting two minnows.”

Milam is also an important figure in Gloucester County Democratic politics, serving as chairman of the Democratic committee in Washington Township (the county’s largest town) – until today. Milam announced this afternoon that he’s stepped down as chair in the wake of the indictment, and former Mayor Laurie Burns will take his place.

“The Democratic Party is bigger than any one person,” Milam said in a statement. “While I maintain my innocence and intend to fight these charges, I believe stepping aside as chair is the best decision for the party moving forward.”

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Gov. Phil Murphy threw a dash of cold water on Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s proposal to freeze utility rates if elected governor, saying he doesn’t know how such a policy could be implemented.

Sherrill, the Democratic nominee to succeed the term-limited governor, unveiled an aggressive set of proposals on Wednesday to address the state’s quickly rising electricity costs, a potent issue in this year’s race for governor. Headlining the proposals was a promise to declare a state of emergency over utility rates and a vow to freeze utility rates for the first year of her governorship.

Speaking to reporters after signing a pair of energy-related bills, the governor said he isn’t sure how such a plan would work, noting the energy system’s intersections with private firms would make such a policy difficult to implement.

“I’m not sure how you’d actually do that,” Murphy said. “These are private-sector players. I’m not sure if she got into the details as to how you do it, but we’ve been spending morning, noon, and night on energy, energy sources, energy affordability for years.”

When asked on Wednesday about what authority a governor has to perform such a move, Sherrill said her campaign has determined it’s possible. She said no other governor has taken a similar measure.

“This is something that we have looked into, that I’ve determined, as governor, I’ll have the power to do; to bring all of our utility companies to the table, [the Board of Public Utilities] to the table, who’s negotiating some of these prices, and make sure we’re driving down costs,” she said. “And there is also money that comes in through the BPU that I will use to defray some of this as well.”

In a statement today, Sherrill’s campaign said she’d have the power to freeze rates as governor but didn’t specify exactly how that proposal would be enacted.

“As a former Naval aviator, Mikie understands the importance of decisive action, which is why she has proposed bold, unprecedented action to drive down New Jerseyans’ soaring utility bills on Day One of her administration,” said Sean Higgins, a spokesperson for Sherrill. “Mikie understands the crushing cost crisis facing New Jersey families and businesses. Mikie has determined that as governor, she’ll have the power to bring our utility companies and the BPU to the table, to freeze rates, drive down costs, and give New Jerseyans the swift relief they need.”

Democratic leaders in the Garden State have sought to slow the increase in energy rates, which went up 20% in June and are set to increase by as much as 5% next June. State legislators passed a flurry of bills addressing the crisis — which could be especially harmful to Democratic incumbents during an election year — including the pair of bills Murphy enacted on Friday.

“It’s possible Mikie went into this in more detail — I don’t know what that means,” Murphy said. “These are private-sector players. I’m a proud progressive and a cold-blooded capitalist. I believe there are ways to get to where we want to get to. I’m open-minded to everything, but I’m not sure what that means, and I’d love to get more detail on that, which we will.”

Democrats have directed their ire toward the region’s power grid operator, PJM Interconnection. PJM runs the electric grid for New Jersey and 12 other states in the region; leaders of other states on the grid have also blamed PJM for rate increases, including Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, whose lawsuit limited how much costs could go up next year. Sherrill, in fact, said she would direct her attorney general to sue PJM “to force them to end their mismanagement.”

Critics of PJM say the grid operator has failed to green-light hundreds of clean-energy plants across the network, leaving the region unable to keep up with ever-increasing demand. One bill Murphy has signed allows the BPU to investigate PJM’s pricing model. Utility companies say the state imports more than 40% of its energy from the PJM market.

State Sen. Bob Smith (D-Piscataway), the chair of the Senate’s Environment and Energy Committee, said the state could be forced to leave PJM if the alleged mismanagement continues.

“I don’t know if we’re going to still be in PJM next year or the year after,” Smith said during Friday’s bill signing. “If this isn’t a shot across their bow, I don’t know what is. They’ve treated New Jersey and many of the other states very shallowly, the way in which they’ve concocted these rate increases.”

PJM has repeatedly argued the grid operator is little more than a political scapegoat.

“We understand the political motive to shift blame for high electricity bills, but the fact remains: PJM operates as a not-for-profit that plans the power grid and administers federally regulated wholesale electricity markets,” PJM spokesperson Dan Lockwood told the New Jersey Globe in a statement. “Pointing fingers will not solve the supply-and-demand realities driving higher prices for consumers in New Jersey, including challenges that stem from failed policies. Our focus remains on working toward real solutions, because New Jerseyans deserve nothing less.”

Republicans, who are seeking to win the governorship and Assembly this November, argue Democrats are to blame for the price increases. Jack Ciattarelli, the GOP nominee for governor, has blamed Murphy’s clean-energy efforts for rate increases and worked to tie Sherrill to Murphy on the issue.

Sherrill, who also proposed an aggressive build-up of the state’s “energy arsenal,” didn’t limit her criticisms to PJM. She said that if the BPU

“If the current BPU commissioners are not going to address this, and if they are not going to drive down costs for people, then yes, they will be replaced,” she said.

Christine Guhl-Sadovy, the president of the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, the state’s top energy regulatory board, declined to comment on Sherrill’s remarks about a rate freeze or the BPU, saying she does not comment on political campaigns due to her status as a member of the state government.

And Sherrill also said she’ll force utility companies like PSE&G, JCP&L, and Atlantic City Electric to increase transparency and “open up their books.” A poll of likely New Jersey voters found that while the state’s residents are split on who to blame for the increase in rates, a plurality blames the state’s utility companies, even though they possess no power over prices.

In a press release, the New Jersey Utilities Association, representing the state’s utility companies, said they have been “sounding the alarm” of the now-arrived increase in demand for years. The group said utility companies don’t earn profit from energy prices and already meet high transparency standards with reports to the BPU. The NJUA said the state needs to “take control of its energy destiny” to fix the issue in the long run.

“Because electric companies themselves don’t control these costs, we are unable to reduce them,” the statement said. “And we report our financial details regularly to the BPU by way of rate cases, where utility expenses are reviewed in a highly detailed and transparent fashion. This is how our regulators ensure that recovered expenses by utilities are ‘just and reasonable.’”

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