Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) is bringing in more legal heavyweights to help his defense against federal indictments from September that allege he accepted bribes in the form of cash, a Mercedes-Benz convertible and gold bars.
The 69-year-old Menendez tapped Robert “Gold Bars” Luskin to represent him pro hac, or outside of his usual jurisdiction, according to a Nov. 17 court filing with the Southern District of New York.
A request for Luskin to serve as the senator’s counsel has yet to be approved by US District Judge Sidney Stein, who is presiding over the case, according to the filing.
Luskin earned the unpopular nickname after receiving more than $500,000 in gold bullion as payment for legal fees while appealing the 1993 conviction of Stephen Saccoccia.
Saccoccia, a Rhode Island-based precious metals dealer, laundered hundreds of millions of dollars for Colombian drug cartels in the 1980s — and was sentenced to 660 years in federal prison.
Robert “Gold Bars” Luskin (above) has been tapped to represent Sen. Bob Menendez pro hac vice, according to court filings. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images Sen. Menendez was indicted in September for allegedly taking bribes in the form of cash, a Mercedes-Benz convertible and gold bars. CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Luskin also became the first male attorney to wear earrings while arguing a case before the Supreme Court in 1995, the Washington Post reported at the time.
The US attorney at the time in Rhode Island, Sheldon Whitehouse, now a US senator, went after Luskin following his failed appeal of Saccoccia’s conviction, with Whitehouse accusing the lawyer of accepting laundered funds.
The case was settled in 1998 after Luskin agreed to return $245,000 in fees to the government.
A representative for the Whitehouse office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Luskin also did not respond to requests for comment.
Stephen Saccoccia, a precious metals trader based in Rhode Island, laundered hundreds of millions of dollars for Colombian drug cartels in the 1980s.WJAR
Whitehouse said at the time that Luskin had engaged in “willful blindness” for pocketing the gold bullion, according to the Daily Beast, which first reported on Friday’s filing.
Saccoccia’s most recent appeal against his sentence was rejected by a federal appeals court in August 2021, with the panel writing that he “holds a special place in the money laundering ring.”
In the 1980s, while working at the Justice Department, Luskin helped oversee the FBI’s Abscam sting operation, which ensnared more than 30 federal, state and local politicians on corruption charges.
US Attorney Sheldon Whitehouse in Rhode Island at the time accused Luskin of taking more than $500,000 in illegal money from Colombian drug cartels.AP
He rose to prominence while serving as a defense attorney for Republican strategist Karl Rove after the CIA leak scandal, which exposed Valerie Plame as a covert operative in 2003.
Menendez pleaded not guilty last month to all charges stemming from his allegations, including an additional charge of acting as an agent of the Egyptian government while serving as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“Picking new charges on top of new charges does not make the allegations true,” he said in a statement on Oct 12.
Luskin (right) rose to prominence while serving as a defense attorney for Republican strategist Karl Rove (front) after the CIA leak scandal, which exposed Valerie Plame as a secret agency official in 2003. The Washington Post via Getty Images
Menendez refused to resign but agreed to step down as chairman of his committee following the allegations.
The indictment details a corruption website that involved the Democratic senator and his wife, Nadine, appearing on behalf of three wealthy New Jersey businessmen — taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gifts.
The Garden State Democrat also allegedly lobbied to freeze $300 million in military aid to Egypt while serving as head of the powerful Foreign Relations Committee.
The indictment details a corruption website the Democratic senator and his wife, Nadine Menendez, ran on behalf of three wealthy New Jersey businessmen.AP
The driver’s fingerprints of one of the businessmen were later found on an envelope at Menendez’s home containing thousands of dollars in cash, according to federal prosecutors.
Prosecutors also said Menendez had googled “kilo gold price” after receiving about $150,000 in gold bars from an associate.
Veteran Democratic attorneys Marc Elias and Abbe Lowell previously represented Menendez during the previous corruption case, which alleged the senator took nearly $1 million in private jet tours and luxury vacations from a Florida ophthalmologist in exchange for visas for the doctor’s foreign girlfriend.
Menendez refused to resign but agreed to step down from his committee chairmanship following the allegations. Kevin C. Downs for the NY Post
In 2017, a jury deadlocked on the charge, resulting in a mistrial.
Menendez was previously represented by another defense attorney from Lowell’s Winston & Strawn firm.
Lowell himself is currently representing Hunter Biden’s first son on charges of violating federal gun laws.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
