He thought he was a Biden: Menendez was corrupt from the start

It began at least as early as 1989, if not sooner.

Starting in 1989, when the senator was the mayor of Union City, NJ, Menendez reportedly secured more than $2 million in public cash and loans for Egyptian-American imam Feisal Abdul Rauf.

The funding was meant to renovate three low-income apartment buildings Rauf owned there, according to reports— buildings that, tenants complained, remained dilapidated for years after the money was received.

At the same time, Rauf was in business with developer Fred Daibes — the Menendez political benefactor who allegedly bribed him with gold bars and cash, and who was named as a Menendez co-defendant Friday.

And although I’d have changed the headline to read “one of the most”, this article is on target:

Bob Menendez had built reputation as Senate’s most unethical

… Back in 2005, as Menendez’s political trajectory was soaring, the late Assemblyman Eric Munoz, a leading Hispanic Republican in the state Legislature at the time, keenly observed, “Bob Menendez has proven time and again that his only interest is the ambitions of himself and his cronies.”

Years on, with the weight of investigations and accusations, this statement feels eerily prophetic, leading to the inevitable question: Has Menendez evolved into our generation’s most corrupt member of the Senate?

The latest indictment might be the crescendo, but the symphony of suspicion has been playing for a while. After all, Menendez has established two legal defense funds in a mere decade.

The precursor fund was centered around allegations tied to a purported eye doctor — a donor with more than a passing interest in the Senator. Tales of Caribbean getaways, visas for South American models, and dubious dealings in port security dogged Menendez.

Liberty State Park was the scenic starting line for Menendez’s Senate odyssey.

Yet, not long after, in 2006, then U.S. Attorney Chris Christie revealed an inquiry into Menendez’s financial undertakings — specifically, sizable rent payments from a charity the Senator was notably passionate about championing.

This was merely an overture to further claims of illicit campaign contributions that painted Menendez in a perpetual light of controversy.

Yet, through all of this, the voters of New Jersey continuously entrusted Menendez with their representation. This may have emboldened Menendez, guiding him toward ever bolder criminal endeavors.

What’s genuinely baffling is the longevity of his political career despite the looming shadows of controversy. It’s not solely the unyielding support of New Jersey voters that’s perplexing, but the systemic apathy that allowed these scandals to fester unchecked.

Living in the tri-state area all these years it was impossible not to notice what Menendez was up to because, in a rare display of actual journalism, the local media tracked and reported on his crimes over the decades. Yet, as the reporter above notes, New Jersey voters kept returning him to office, and the national Democrats tolerated and even promoted him; only yesterday, for instance, was he finally forced to resign as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee even though his corrupt dealings with the Egyptian government have been common knowledge for years.

And then there’s this: WHERE’S HUNTER, FAT? When Bob Menendez’ Aide Wanted to Meet With Vice President Biden, Who Do You Think He Emailed to Arrange The Sit-Down?