Sen. Robert Menendez has spoken to reporters about allegations he traveled to the Dominican Republic to have sex with underage prostitutes, according to a Jan. 31, 2013 report.
As he exited the 76th annual New Jersey Chamber of Commerce dinner, Menendez said, “I have comments already from my office… These are nameless, faceless, anonymous allegations,” reports Mediaite.com.
Allegations were made by the Daily Caller in Nov. 2012 regarding Menendez’s behavior, claiming two women said Menendez, 59, paid them for sex.
The Atlantic reports that not much was done with the information, but as of late several other media outlets have begun to look further into the matter.
The Miami Herald questioned a trip the senator made with Florida eye doctor and political donor, Salomen Melgen, to the Dominican Republic twice in 2010. According to the report, Melgen is currently the subject of an FBI investigation.
The Herald reports his West Palm Beach business has been raided and he’s suspected of giving free trips and providing underage prostitutes in the Dominican Republic to Menendez. The senator has called the allegations “fallacious.”
According to The Atlantic, on Jan. 30, Menendez referenced the rumors and the Daily Caller, saying, “Any allegations of engaging with prostitutes are manufactured by a politically motivated right-wing blog and are false.”
The Caller claims it has emails to bolster its story—one being written by someone using the name of “Peter Williams that was sent to Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility, a Washington-based group. The email is reportedly in Spanish and details Menendez’s visits to the Dominican Republic.
According to The Daily Beast, the senator is also involved in another scandal surrounding former unpaid intern for Menendez’s 2012 campaign for re-election to the Senate—Luis Abrahan Sanchez Zavaleta—who was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs on Dec. 6, 2012. Zavaleta, 18, is allegedly an illegal Peruvian immigrant and registered sex offender, according to the report.
The Associated Press reported that the intern was to be arrested on Oct. 25, but the Dept. of Homeland Security asked ICE to wait until the election was over—a report the DHS denies is true, according to the Beast.
Menendez’s office has claimed it had no knowledge of Zavaleta’s legal status.
The Beast notes that much of the “information floating around” regarding Menendez has not been “confirmed, nor has it been verified.”
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