MENENDEZ IN FE-MAIL CHAIN
Staffer: Gals high on pol’s to-do list
Things to do for a busy US senator: “Cuba policy,” “Afghanistan” — getting a visa for a married pal’s Dominican girlfriend and her sister.
An ex-aide to Sen. Robert Menendez told Newark federal jurors Monday that the senator ordered him to call a US ambassador “asap” on behalf of Rosiell Polanco, a 22-year-old stunner who needed a tourist visa to visit the senator’s wealthy friend in Florida.
“Call Ambassador asap,” Menendez told Mark Lopes, his former senior policy adviser, in a November 2008 e-mail shown to jurors.
Menendez and Dr. Salomon Melgen, 63, are on trial on charges that the senator did official favors for the ophthalmologist in exchange for lavish gifts, including all-expense-paid vacations and $750,000 in campaign contributions.
In exchange, Menendez advocated for his married pal’s professional and personal affairs, including helping to secure visas for three of his foreign flings, according to federal prosecutors.
The Garden State politician also pressed for visas for Brazilian beau- ty-turned-lawyer Juliana Lopes Leite and Ukrainian model Svitlana Buchyk, prosecutors have said.
On Monday, feds introduced a series of e-mails between Lopes, Menendez, other staffers and Melgen discussing how best to tackle the Polanco visa issue.
Prosecutors also introduced one of Lopes’ weekly staff reports showing that he placed the “Melgen visa inquiry” on a status report to the senator alongside global issues like “Cuba Policy.”
The Democrat wrote a letter of support for Polanco and her sister before their visa interview but was dismissed by a consular official. That’s when Menendez stepped it up and said he wanted to speak to the ambassador directly, the former senior staffer testified.
“Do US ambassadors usually get involved in visa applications?” prosecutor Joseph Cooney asked.
“Only if US senators advocate on their behalf,” Lopes replied. “He wanted to be proactive about advocating for the outcome that he sought and didn’t want to wait.”
A month after the visa request for Polanco was rejected, she and her sister were re-interviewed by an official who approved them.
The feds also introduced documents showing that Menendez used Lopes to intercede on behalf of the Brazilian with a similar letter of support. Only Lopes Leite’s application was immediately approved, documents showed.
Menendez’s lawyers insist his intervention for Melgen was due to their decades-long friendship — and not in exchange for bribes.