Federal Probe of N.J. Senator’s Ties to Nonprofit Closed

Federal prosecutors have terminated an investigation into New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez’s business relationship with a nonprofit group in his former House district, according to The Star-Ledger.

In an Oct. 5 letter to Sen. Menendez’s lawyer, U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger said he had “decided to close the file” on the five-year-old case, which centered on a rental agreement with North Hudson Community Action Corporation.

The nonprofit agency paid more than $300,000 to lease office space from then-Rep. Menendez in Union City, N.J., from 1994 to 2003, during which time the Democratic congressman helped the community development group win millions of dollars in federal aid.

The launch of the probe in September 2006 became an issue in Sen. Menendez’s election campaign that year, with Republicans claiming it showed links to corruption.

While the letter does not explicitly clear Sen. Menendez of wrongdoing, Jay Fahy, a former New Jersey federal prosecutor now in private practice, called it a “de facto exoneration,” adding, “U.S. attorneys don’t give out these letters unless they’re sure.”