National Roundup

New York
Court papers show Sen. Bob Menendez may testify his wife kept him in the dark, unaware of any crimes
NEW YORK (AP) — Sen. Bob Menendez may seek exoneration at his May bribery trial by blaming his wife, saying she kept him in the dark about anything that could be illegal about her dealings with New Jersey businessmen, according to court papers unsealed Tuesday.

Several sentences in a January court filing by lawyers for the Democrat were unsealed in Manhattan federal court after some news organizations insisted that public disclosure was required. Menendez’s lawyers had redacted the documents, claiming that the sentences revealed trial strategy that could bias the jury pool.

According to the passages that were unsealed, Menendez plans to testify about what he believes were exculpatory communications with his wife, Nadine, if he decides to take the witness stand in his defense.

“While these explanations, and the marital communications on which they rely, will tend to exonerate Senator Menendez by demonstrating the absence of any improper intent on Senator Menendez’s part, they may inculpate Nadine by demonstrating the ways in which she withheld information from Senator Menendez or otherwise led him to believe that nothing unlawful was taking place,” the lawyers wrote.

As they sought to sever the trials of the senator and his wife, the lawyers said they planned to assert at trial that Sen. Menendez lacked the knowledge necessary to commit a crime and did not agree to any of the conspiracies outlined in the indictment against him.

With such a trial strategy, the lawyers said they may have to argue, in effect, that any crimes involved the actions of others, including his wife, rather than the senator. They added, though, that they were not aware of any unlawful conduct.

Although the motion to sever the trials was initially denied, Judge Sidney H. Stein has since ruled that they can take place separately after it was revealed that Nadine Menendez needs surgery in the next six weeks. Her trial is now delayed until at least July.

The Menendezes and two businessmen have pleaded not guilty to charges that they participated in a bribery scheme in which prosecutors say cash and gold bars were given to the couple in return for the senator carrying out political favors. Bob Menendez chaired the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee until he stepped down from the role in September because of the allegations.

A third businessman, Jose Uribe, has pleaded guilty to bribery charges and agreed to testify against the others at trial. Uribe said he conspired with Nadine Menendez and others to provide her with a Mercedes-Benz in return for access to her husband’s power and influence.

According to the indictment, the Menendezes accepted bribes to help one businessmen get a lucrative meat-certification deal with Egypt and another associate get a deal with a Qatari investment fund.

The redacted passages in the March filing were unsealed after media organizations led by NBCUniversal Media and including The Associated Press argued that the public’s right to access the documents overrode any concerns by Menendez’s attorneys.


Nevada
Executor of O.J. Simpson’s estate plans to fight payout to the families of Brown and Goldman
LAS VEGAS (AP) — The executor of O.J. Simpson’s estate says he will work to prevent a payout of a $33.5 million judgment awarded by a California civil jury nearly three decades ago in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the families of Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

Simpson’s will was filed Friday in a Clark County court in Nevada, naming his longtime lawyer, Malcolm LaVergne, as the executor. The document shows Simpson’s property was placed into a trust that was created this year.

LaVergne told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the entirety of Simpson’s estate has not been tallied. Under Nevada law, an estate must go through the courts if its assets exceed $20,000.

Simpson died Wednesday without having paid the lion’s share of the civil judgment that was awarded in 1997 after jurors found him liable. With his assets set to go through the court probate process, the Goldman and Brown families could be in line to get paid a piece of whatever Simpson left behind.

LaVergne, who had represented Simpson since 2009, said he specifically didn’t want the Goldman family seeing any money from Simpson’s estate.

“It’s my hope that the Goldmans get zero, nothing,” he told the Review-Journal. “Them specifically. And I will do everything in my capacity as the executor or personal representative to try and ensure that they get nothing.”

LaVergne did not immediately return phone and email messages left by The Associated Press on Saturday.

Although the Brown and Goldman families have pushed for payment, LaVergne said there was never a court order forcing Simpson to pay the civil judgment. The attorney told the Review-Journal that his particular ire at the Goldman family stemmed in part from the events surrounding Simpson’s planned book, titled “If I Did It.” Goldman’s family won control of the manuscript and retitled the book “If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer.”

Simpson earned fame and fortune through football and show business, but his legacy was forever changed by the June 1994 knife slayings of his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles. He was acquitted of criminal charges in 1995 in a trial that mesmerized the public.

Goldman’s father Fred Goldman, the lead plaintiff, always said the issue was never the money, it was only about holding Simpson responsible. And he said in a statement Thursday that with Simpson’s death, “the hope for true accountability has ended.”

The Goldman and Brown families will be on at least equal footing with other creditors and will probably have an even stronger claim, as Simpson’s estate is settled under terms established by the trust created in January. The will lists his four children and notes that any beneficiary who seeks to challenge provisions of the will “shall receive, free of trust, one dollar ($1.00) and no more in lieu of any claimed interest in this will or its assets.”

Simpson said he lived only on his NFL and private pensions. Hundreds of valuable possessions had been seized as part of the jury award, and Simpson was forced to auction his Heisman Trophy, fetching $230,000.