Co-defendants: Who allegedly bribed NJ's senior senator?

The indictment against Menendez also names his wife and three New Jersey businessmen as co-defendants. The men allegedly offered bribes in the form of cash, gold, and other luxuries in exchange for the senator's help with their personal and legal problems in a tangled web of schemes both at home and abroad. Senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan takes a closer look at the key players in the case. The cash-stuffed envelopes, the Mercedes-Benz, the gold bars. Who allegedly funneled bribes to Senator Bob Menendez and his wife in a brazen trade for political influence as detailed in this indictment? It lists three North Jersey co-defendants, including Edgewater developer Fred Dabies, a generous contributor to Menendez's political campaigns, but also a longtime political player in Edgewater, say state investigators. There were several local officials that had financial ties directly to Dabies and Dabies-related entities. We found the mayor of the town, at the time, had a deferred rent, interest-free apartment in a Dabies building. The State Commission of Investigations reports Dabies helped develop Bergen County's posh Gold Coast along the Hudson Riverfront, but he also developed a reputation for pushing legal boundaries. For example, Edgewater awarded Dabies a contract to renovate Veterans Park, but... The town didn't really fully vet or evaluate, properly evaluate his bid to renovate a ball field. And then, in turn, they didn't oversee him properly. So there ended up to be allegations of toxic dumping into that ball field. Dabies also founded a bank, formerly Mariner's, now Spencer Savings. Facing charges of bank fraud, the indictment alleges Dabies asked Menendez to influence the New Jersey U.S. attorney, who reportedly resisted. Dabies pleaded guilty to a lesser charge. Menendez and his wife Nadine received gold and envelopes of cash with Dabies' fingerprints on them. Meanwhile, Dabies stays busy. Despite the indictment, despite the new charges, he's still making, he traveled to London, he traveled to Qatar, he's making million-dollar business deals for properties in Edgewater. NorthJersey.com reporter Christy Katafi cites a web of connections between Dabies and another indicted co-defendant, Egyptian-born Will Hanna. He was deep in debt after several failed New Jersey business attempts. Dabies reportedly paid off a lot of Hanna's debt. Their offices are right next to each other, so they knew each other. I know Dabies has been a longtime donor to Menendez, so the connections were there. I think it was just a matter of putting the pieces together. Dabies' Edgewater office building is where Hanna headquartered EGIS Halal. It's the only U.S. business allowed to certify Halal meat for shipment to Egypt. Menendez allegedly leaned on federal officials who threatened Hanna's monopoly, and then, through Hanna, provided sensitive information about arms sales to the Egyptian government. Nadine Menendez served as the conduit for secrets and payments, the indictment says. The money wasn't coming in, and she sends text messages to her husband, saying she's so upset, and the next thing we know, this contract comes through, and he has the Halal monopoly, and then the money starts flowing back to her. Hanna's friend, Jose Uribe, lost his insurance broker's license for fraud. He allegedly bought Nadine Menendez a Mercedes-Benz after the senator reportedly called to disrupt a state investigation into his associates. Uribe's the third indicted businessman, but the big cheese? Had it not been for the receptive ear of Bob Menendez, they would have been absolutely not in business at all. They found somebody who was a willing partner. They found somebody who was willing to do business. They found somebody who was open to their gifts, and was open to doing the favors back in return for them. As Mike Erasmussen says, Menendez barely beat his first corruption trial in 2018. This alleged scheme started the same year. It should have gone nowhere with Menendez. It should have stopped with Menendez. Defendant's attorneys have denied the charges. I'm Brenda Flanagan, NJ Spotlight News.