New Jersey authorities seize records related to fatal crash involving US senator's wife

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The New Jersey attorney general's office has seized records related to the fatal 2018 crash involving the now wife of US Sen. Bob Menendez, Nadine Arslanian, according to a report released Friday.

The records were taken from Bergen County law enforcement agencies on Thursday as state investigators seek to determine whether law enforcement properly handled the case, the New York Times newspaper reported citing two anonymous officials.

The investigation comes just days after the local news NorthJersey.com website publicly exposed the Dec. 12, 2018 crash that killed Richard Koop, a 49-year-old pedestrian who was crossing the street at the time.

The accident occurred before Arslanian married Menendez while they were still dating.

A Bogota Police Department report on the crash determined that Arslanian was not at fault, and said she hit Koop while he was jaywalking at night along a two-lane boulevard that ran in front of his home in the New Jersey town.

Arslanian, who along with her husband is under criminal indictment for unrelated corruption allegations, told police that Koop “ran across the roadway and jumped onto the hood” of her Mercedes-Benz.

No criminal charges were filed, and officers on the scene did not perform any field sobriety tests, according to NorthJersey.com.

Koop “appeared to have severe head trauma, bleeding from the back of his head, bleeding from the face and possible fractured legs and arms," police officer Michael LaFerrera wrote in the official report.

Koop did not appear to be breathing when LaFerrera responded to the scene and it was not possible to perform CPR due to the extent of the injuries, said the report. He was pronounced dead after being transported to a nearby hospital. Koop's family has complained that they believe the probe into the crash was insufficient.

The New York Times reported that the investigation was opened one day after the NorthJersey.com story was published.

As part of a long-running investigation that ensnared Arslanian, Menendez and three New Jersey businessmen on corruption charges, prosecutors alleged that the New Jersey senator's wife had complained to one of the businessmen, Wael Hana, about her lack of a car the month after the accident.

Hana then allegedly promised to provide her with a car and worked with co-defendant Juan Uribe to procure a vehicle for Arslanian. Uribe arranged for Arslanian to receive a 2019 Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible in April, according to prosecutors.

He allegedly provided Arslanian with $15,000 for the down payment and then made monthly payments on the $60,000 vehicle through other individuals or a company he controlled.