Who is Bob Menendez's first wife Jane Jacobsen? All you need to know as New Jersey senator indicted in bribery plot 

Bob Menendez, a 66-year-old New Jersey Democratic Senator who has held his seat since 2006, was accused of participating in a bribery scheme alongside his second wife, Nadine Menedez, 56, according to an indictment unsealed on Friday, September 23.

The couple allegedly accepted thousands of dollars in cash, Gold, and mortgage payments as bribes in exchange for the senator's influence on various US policies that would benefit his close associates.

The indictment includes three counts against the couple accused of accepting bribes. In addition to the couple, the indictment also names three co-defendants described as "New Jersey associates and businessmen", Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes.

All five defendants face counts of conspiracy to commit bribery and conspiracy to commit honest services fraud. Furthermore, the couple was additionally charged with conspiracy to commit extortion under the color of official right.

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All you need to know about Bob Menendez's first wife Jane Jacobsen and their two children

Jane Jacobsen (Image via Alicia Menendez/Facebook)

Bob Menendez’s recent legal troubles have piqued the public's interest in his private life as online searches spiked for information on the senator’s first wife and children. Bob Menedez was married before he met his second wife and co-conspirator in the bribery scandal, Nadine Manendez in 2010.

Bob Menendez married his first wife, Jane Jacobsen, also known as Jane Menendez, in 1976 before divorcing in 2005. Jane Jacobsen is a dedicated teacher associated with the Union City Board of Education and Union City Public Schools. She is a coach for the Union Metropolis Board of Teaching and Union Metropolis Regular public Faculties. The couple have two children, Alicia and Rob Menendez.

The former couple’s children are well-accomplished in their respective fields. Alicia Menedez is an accomplished American television commentator, host, and writer who recently joined MSNBC as a weekend news anchor.

Meanwhile, Rob Jacobsen Meendez is an American lawyer and politician serving his first term in Congress as the Representative of the 8th district of New Jersey.

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What we know about Bob Menendez and his second wife Nadine Menendez

Bob Menendez, the son of Cuban immigrants who has held a US senator seat from NJ since 2006, has served as a top-ranking Democrat on the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the last five years. In this role, he has had immense influence over US foreign policy, including in countries such as Russia, China and the Middle East.

Bob and Nadine Menendez (Image via Facebook)

Menendez met his second wife, Nadine Arslanian, sometime in 2010 at IHOP. However, the couple only began dating in 2018. The couple reportedly dated for 10 months before Bob Menendez proposed in front of the Taj Mahal on October 3, 2019, while they were on a trip to India.

Nadine was reportedly struggling financially after she divorced her first husband in 2005. She has two children from her previous marriage - a daughter, who graduated from NYU, and a son, who was attending Northeastern and graduated in 2020.

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Details of Bob and Nadine Menendez's indictment explored

In the indictment, Nadine Menendez is accused of introducing her husband to one of the co-defendants, Wael Hana. Hana, who is originally from Egypt, was allegedly a close associate of Nadine before she met the senator. Hana was accused of introducing the senator to Egyptian intelligence and military officials, so the public official could influence policies that would benefit Egypt.

The indictment says that Bob Menendez secretly ghost-wrote a letter on behalf of the Egyptian government where he sought to convince other US senators to release $300m in aid.

Furthermore, the senator was accused of putting pressure on an official at the US Department of Agriculture to stop opposing Hana’s monopoly as the sole halal meat exporter to Egypt despite his company having no previous experience in the field.

According to the indictment, in June 2022, federal agents raided the couple's New Jersey home and discovered "the fruits" of a "corrupt bribery agreement", that included Gold bars worth over $100,000.

They also found hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash. The agents also discovered an envelope full of cash, stuffed inside clothes in the closet. Investigators revealed that the fingerprints and DNA of one of his co-defendants were found on an envelope of cash. In addition, they also recovered a Mercedes-Benz luxury vehicle paid for by one of the co-defendants.