FBI raids office of Sen. Menendez donor accused of arranging prostitutes for him

Miami Herald:
FBI agents late Tuesday night raided the West Palm Beach business of an eye doctor suspected of providing free trips and even underage Dominican Republic prostitutes to U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J. — who has denied what he calls the “fallacious allegations.”

Agents gathered at the medical-office complex of Dr. Salomon Melgen, a contributor to Menendez and other prominent politicians, to start hauling away potential evidence in several vans.

The investigation is believed to be focusing on Melgen’s finances and the allegations about Menendez’s trips and contact with prostitutes. A spokesman for Menendez could not be reached for comment, nor could Melgen.

Melgen has an outstanding IRS lien of $11.1 million for taxes owed from 2006 to 2009, according to records filed with the Palm Beach County recorder’s office. A previous IRS lien for $6.2 million was released in 2011.

Despite those financial problems, Melgen and his family have contributed at least $357,000 to candidates and committees since 1998, according to Florida and federal campaign records. Of that, the Melgens have contributed about 9 percent to Menendez’s federal campaigns.

Melgen also owns a private CL-600 Challenger plane through one of his West Palm Beach-based companies, and frequently flies between South Florida and Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic, where he is from.
...
 Harry Reid refused to respond to questions about Menendez who was recently elevated to Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee claiming the source was not someone he trusted.  Reid, who once claimed to have a source saying Gov. Romney paid not taxes some years, but refused to disclose that source who turned out to be wrong.  In this case Reid was upset with the Daily Caller who originally broke the story about Menendez and  an alleged "foreign relations" with an underage prostitute.  While the caller thought Reid was referring to its reporting it is possible that his vague response could have been a lack of trust in the prostitute witnesses.

This appears to be a scandal that has legs that will probably haunt Sen. Menendez and Democrats in teh coming weeks.
 

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/01/29/3207543/fbi-raids-west-palm-beach-office.html#storylink=cpy

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