Bob Menendez trolled after his sister says he stashed cash at home because it is 'normal' for Cubans

MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez's sister testified on his behalf at his federal bribery trial, explaining that his decades-long habit of keeping cash in his home is a “normal” part of his Cuban heritage, per the New York Post.

Caridad Gonzalez, 80, said during her July 1 testimony, “It’s normal. He’s a Cuban,” and recalled an instance in the 1980s when Senator Menendez asked her to retrieve $500 in cash from a shoebox in his closet when she worked for him as a legal secretary.

The 70-year-old embattled New Jersey Democrat was born in Manhattan. According to his sister’s testimony, her “baby brother” didn’t trust banking institutions which was reportedly passed down from his father, who had a successful bowtie business in Cuba before getting into trouble with local authorities.

“He would always say, ‘Don’t trust the banks, you must always have money at home,'” Caridad Gonzalez said of their father.

“Every Cuban that came to the US, you would find that they would have cash in their home because in Cuba they can take everything away from you, whether you like it or not,” she claimed.

What did Bob Menendez’s sister say during her testimony?

Bob Menendez and his wife Nadine Menendez are facing federal charges for allegedly receiving over $566,000 in cash, $150,000 in gold bars, and other gifts. He allegedly used his influential position as the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to grant favors to local businesspeople as well as the governments of Egypt and Qatar.

During a search of the Garden State senator’s cluttered Englewood Cliffs home in June 2022, FBI agents reportedly found large amounts of cash, including stacks of bills concealed inside the Senator's official Senate windbreaker and a well-worn Timberland work boot, as indicated by trial evidence.

The Senator's older sister was the first witness summoned by Menendez's defense attorneys to refute the government's case.

The case included testimony from a New Jersey insurance broker who claimed to have purchased a new Mercedes for Nadine in exchange for her husband's assistance in quashing a state criminal investigation.

During her hour-long testimony, Gonzalez mentioned her “very close” bond with the senator and her role in helping raise him during their childhood in Union City and Hoboken.

“Is it fair to say you love your brother?” prosecutor Lara Pomerantz asked her just before she left the stand.

“Yes, I do,” Gonzalez replied.

After stepping down, Gonzalez exchanged smiles with Senator Menendez, seated at the defense table in a dark gray suit and a pink-and-blue striped tie. Subsequently, the siblings embraced in a courthouse side room.

Menendez’s legal representatives then summoned Nadine’s sister, Katia Tabourian, as a witness, who attested to Nadine’s longstanding history with gold bars, predating the bribery charges brought against her in September 2023.

According to her testimony, Nadine Menendez inherited her grandmother’s cherished collection of gold bars following her passing, decades ago. “I got the gold coins, and my sister got my grandmother’s gold bars,” Tabourian informed jurors. “My sister was my grandmother’s favorite out of five grandkids,” she added. 

Tabourian said Nadine's habit of keeping safe in her closet was common among people of Lebanese descent, including their mother. “Everybody had a safe,” she remarked.

The Senator’s legal representatives have stated that all the gold bars discovered in the Menendez residence were owned by Nadine, who they claimed “sidelined” her husband from the supposed bribery plot.

Court records indicate that Nadine's trial will take place separately from her husband's as she recuperates from breast cancer. She has not been present at his trial.

Despite the pending case, Senator Menendez has refused to resign from his position and has made his intentions clear to run as an independent in the upcoming election, following a significant loss to Rep Andy Kim (D-NJ) in the Democratic Primary in June.

Internet rips Senator Bob Menendez's sister after her testimony

One X user remarked, "Arrest him!! He’s been a crook for decades."

Another user tweeted, "The US Senator stashing cash. These clowns are unbelievable."

Another user wrote, "Wonder if the IRS would accept that explanation from me..."

One user claimed, "He's also a corrupt thief, and nobody's buying her story."

Another X user quipped, "Being Cuban is NOT an excuse to being a DIRTBAG!!!"

Finally, this user snarked, "very normal for someone who doesn't get paid in cash."

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.