UNION CITY, NEW JERSEY: Nadine Arslanian, the second wife of Bob Menendez, allegedly two-timed her attorney boyfriend to spark romance with the Senator after her divorce from first husband Raffi Arslanian.
The 56-year-old Arslanian is currently facing up to 45 years in prison after being accused of conspiring with her husband to commit fraud, bribery, and extortion.
A newly unsealed, 39-page indictment alleges that the couple accepted a convertible Mercedes, gold bars, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for selling the power of his office to the Egyptian government and two New Jersey businessmen.
On Wednesday, September 27, Arslanian and Menendez pleaded not guilty at federal court in Manhattan, where she reportedly brought a $2,300 quilted Chanel bag.
Why did Nadine Arslanian divorce her first husband?
Arslanian was born in a financially successful Armenian family in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1967.
An acquaintance of the family informed The Post that she and her sister Katia had their own governess.
However, the family was forced to leave their wealth behind when Lebanon descended into civil war in 1975.
After escaping the country, they fled first to Greece and then to London and Palo Alto, California then finally settled on a quiet suburban street in Nassau County.
Arslanian attended New York University, where she earned an undergraduate degree in international politics and a master's degree in French history.
After completing her education, she went on to marry New Jersey developer Raffi Arslanian, with whom she shared two children - daughter Sabine, and son Andre.
They bought a modest home in Englewood Cliffs, with plans to tear it down, However, their dreams were left in dust after they filed for divorce in 2005.
“They wanted to build their dream home, but the whole thing fell apart,” attorney Douglas Anton told the NY Post.
In 2011, he began dating Arslanian while also providing legal services to her.
Anton previously made headlines for representing R Kelly during the trial that resulted in the singer's conviction for sex trafficking.
How Nadine Arslanian first met Bob Menendez?
After her first divorce, Arslanian struggled to raise her two children, who studied at the elite Lycée Français in Manhattan where tuition tops $46,000 a year.
On her way to work, she would often take her children to a Union City IHOP, where first met Menendez, according to Anton who also revealed that the restaurant owner introduced her to the senator.
“They maintained a friendship,” Anton said, adding “She used to call him every year on his birthday. Sometimes he invited her for lunch if he was doing an event in New Jersey and she would go with one of her girlfriends.
While maintaining her friendship with Menendez, Arslanian loved going out with the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" cast, including Jacqueline Laurita, at locations like Kim "Kim D." DePaola's store Posche in Allendale, NJ.
She also socialized with “Mob Wives” stars Karen Gravano and Brittany Fogarty and her mom Andrea Giovino, once nicknamed the “real-life Carmela Soprano.”
One of her other friends was John Alite, a former enforcer for the Gambino family who later became a famous novelist and testified against the gangster John Gotti in 2008.
“She’s a goodhearted woman, but she was having a hard time financially,” Alite told the NY Post, stating “We were friends. She used to help me pick out gifts for my girlfriends.”
Why did Nadine Arslanian two-time Douglas Anton?
She continued to date Anton despite her financial difficulties, and on Christmas Eve of 2017, the couple tenderly sang Bon Jovi's "Always" together.
However, their romance suffered a major blow on January 1, 2018, when Arslanian called Menendez to wish him a happy 64th birthday.
On the call, Menendez asked about her relationship status with "that Doug lawyer" and told her that he had been in love with her since 2008.
For the next several months, Arslanian dated both men “on and off,” Anton told The Post, adding that the situation was fraught with tension and jealousy.
At one point, in May 2018, Menendez dispatched two Capitol Police officers to Anton’s office in Hackensack, Anton said, adding “As soon as they left, I had my security team sweep the building.”
Now, Arslanian’s friends are afraid that the senator may throw his wife under the bus to save his career.
“She’s a victim,” said Alice. “Trust me 110 percent, this guy manipulated the s**t out of her. He used her and manipulated her. As a senator, he’s a half-a**–ed gangster.”
