Richard Koop: Who was man Nadine Menendez killed with car?

Indicted Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey is accused of taking a bribe in exchange for a brand-new Mercedes-Benz after his soon-to-be wife killed a man in a car accident that left her vehicle too damaged to drive.

Nadine Arslanian Menendez, 56, was the veteran Democrat’s on-again, off-again lover back when she slammed into Richard Koop, 49, as he crossed a road in Bogota, New Jersey at about 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2018, according to reports on Wednesday.

Police in the area briefly questioned Arslanian before releasing her because they believed she was “not at fault,” according to The New York Times.

Police in the area briefly questioned Arslanian before releasing her because they believed she was “not at fault,” according to The New York Times.

Menendez’s future wife told cops she didn’t see Koop — but she was driving her black Mercedes fast enough that the collision flung his mangled body to the curb, just steps from his own house

Koop died almost instantly, the Times said. When his ex-wife went to identify his corpse, she could barely recognize him.

A month after the crash, Arslanian was texting Wael Hana — an Egyptian American businessman also recently indicted in the bribery scheme — about her lack of a car, according to an indictment brought by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Hana later provided her with a 2019 Mercedez-Benz C-300 convertible, the indictment says.

Arslanian’s luxury ride was trashed. She shattered her windshield, and the front end was badly damaged because she careened into a parked car after hitting the man, according to a Bogota police report.

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