WNYC Presents DEAD END: THE RISE AND FALL OF GOLD BAR BOB MENENDEZ
A new three-part podcast series chronicling the political career of former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez, from fledgling Democratic star to convicted felon, hosted by WNYC reporter Nancy Solomon
Debut episode out today
(June 11, 2025 – New York, NY) – With former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez scheduled to report to prison on June 17, WNYC is launching Dead End: The Rise and Fall of Gold Bar Bob Menendez, a special three-part podcast series tracking this once promising politician’s rise and fall – from the overachieving son of working-class Cuban immigrants to national power player to convicted felon.
Once a symbol of American grit and political resilience, Menendez is now facing a long prison sentence for bribery, extortion, obstruction of justice and conspiracy in one of the most bizarre corruption cases in recent political history: a scheme involving a halal meat monopoly and an Egyptian weapons deal. Further, when the FBI searched his home in June 2022, they found $486,000 in cash and 13 gold bars – stuffed in shopping bags, jacket pockets, duffel bags, and a pair of the senator’s boots.
Through interviews with friends and former staffers, voicemails from his wife and co-conspirator Nadine Arslanian Menendez, and surprising details from the trial, Dead End: The Rise and Fall of Gold Bar Bob Menendez recaps this long road to justice, and why he may have thrown away his career and ambitions. Each episode peels back another layer, weaving together political history, personal transformation, and legal intrigue.
Episode 1 is out today, with additional episodes dropping on Friday, June 13 and Tuesday, June 17.
“I’ve been following the career of Bob Menendez for as long as I’ve been covering New Jersey,” said Nancy Solomon, WNYC Senior Reporter and Host of Dead End, who has been reporting on the state for nearly 25 years. “Menendez may be reporting to prison, but the political environment has significantly shifted since he was first indicted two years ago. With recent pardons of both Republicans and Democrats convicted on corruption charges during previous Administrations, and the dismissal of new corruption cases by the U.S. Department of Justice, Menendez’s chances for a pardon or an appeal have never looked better. Dead End will use this moment to revisit how he got here and ponder what may come next.”
Dead End is available wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Episode descriptions are as follows:
June 11: The Fighter
We trace Bob Menendez’s rise from a tough New Jersey neighborhood to the heights of U.S. politics. With stories from those who knew and worked with him, we explore his brand as a relentless fighter—and how an earlier bribery indictment in 2015 sent him off the rails.
June 13: The Lover
As Menendez walks free from his first corruption trial, he meets a new love—Nadine Arslanian. Nadine was a stay-at-home mom in Englewood cliffs, New Jersey. She drove her kids to a private French school in Manhattan – and had been spotted with cast members of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey.” Within weeks of meeting the Senator, she’s arranging off-the-books meetings with Egyptian generals. What started as a rebound romance turns into the centerpiece of an international bribery case.
June 17: The Fall
It was an elegant scheme, but soon cracks began to appear. The FBI watch Menendez have dinner with Egyptian spies, they find gold bars in a closet, and a foreign influence scheme unfolds. Menendez faces the trial of his life: why would a man at the top of the political world risk everything? And is our political system partly to blame? Can a senator who is not wealthy succeed, or even survive, in a political system that is infused with gifts, luxury trips and money?
ABOUT NANCY SOLOMON
Nancy Solomon is a senior reporter in the WNYC/Gothamist newsroom and host of WNYC’s monthly call-in radio show, Ask Governor Murphy. Solomon was the founding managing editor of New Jersey Public Radio, which won a 2014 Peabody Award for Chris Christie, White House Ambitions and the Abuse of Power. Her last podcast project was Dead End: A New Jersey Political Murder Mystery about the brutal murder of John and Joyce Sheridan.
Solomon got her start in radio reporting and production at KLCC in Eugene, Oregon, in 1995. She moved to New Jersey in 2001 and has been covering the state ever since. She has produced more than a hundred stories for NPR and was a 2008-09 Spencer Fellow in Education Reporting at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. During that year, Solomon produced “Mind the Gap: Why Good Schools are Failing Black Students” for which she won a Peabody Award. Long before becoming a journalist, Solomon was the first woman ever hired to work on the county road crew in Portland, Oregon.
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