- Nadine Arslanian married Bob Menendez in 2020, two years after she struck and killed a pedestrian.
- Records show that she has a history of traffic infractions, including using a phone while driving.
Nadine Arslanian, the wife of embattled New Jersey senator Bob Menendez, has a history of traffic violations stretching beyond a fatal 2018 crash in which she struck and killed a pedestrian, municipal records show, including two citations for using her phone while driving.
Arslanian hit 49-year-old Richard Koop with her Mercedes-Benz in front of his house in December 2018, killing him. Police determined she was not at fault.
Arslanian and Menendez were indicted last month on bribery allegations. Investigators described Arslanian as the architect of a scheme in which an Egyptian businessman traded cash and gold bars for political favors and information from the senator.
Arslanian seems to have been something of a fixture in New Jersey traffic courts, racking up six tickets between 2005 and 2018 for violations, including using a phone while driving, ignoring traffic signs, and failing to maintain her headlamps. Politico New Jersey's Matt Friedman was first to report on her checkered driving record.
Arslanian received another ticket for using her phone while driving in 2021, three years after she killed Koop, municipal records show. She paid a $240 fine.
Arslanian's ex-boyfriend Doug Anton, a criminal defense attorney known for representing R. Kelly, sometimes defended her in traffic court, records show – often without success. In 2016, for instance, he failed to get her out of a $51 parking ticket.
A parade of luxury vehicles make their way through Arslanian's traffic citations, with tickets showing her driving a BMW and three different Mercedes-Benzes.
One of those Benzes, a black 2019 convertible, is the same model that federal prosecutors said was gifted to Arslanian from the Egyptian businessman at the heart of the bribery scandal, Wael Hana.
Arslanian's attorney and Senator Mendendez's office did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.