“The volume of bills that we encountered, which you can see in some of the photographs, was too large to count by hand,” Mr Kougemitros told the court.
The FBI also seized 11 mini gold bars weighing 1 ounce, as well as two 1 kg gold bars. They were sent to the jury.
In opening statements, prosecutors said Mr. Menendez, a senator since 2006, had “betrayed the people he was supposed to serve for bribes.”
They alleged that the cash and gold bars found in his home were given to him by Egyptian officials in exchange for political favors in Washington.
Prosecutor Lara Pomerantz also accused Mr. Menendez of receiving a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for his interference in a criminal case involving Egyptian-American businessman Wael Hana, a co-defendant in the case.
Ms. Menendez is accused of being the middleman in these bribes.
Avi Weitzman, Mr. Menendez’s lawyer, said his client took no bribes and did not violate the law. He added that some gold bars belonged to Ms. Menendez.
During his opening speech Wednesday, Mr. Weitzman sought to shift blame to the senator’s wife, saying she had “kept him in the dark” about financial matters and that the couple had accounts separate banks.
Lawyers for the other co-defendants in the case, Mr. Hana and New Jersey real estate developer Fred Daibes – accused of giving cash and gold bars to Mr. Menendez – told the court that their clients were longtime close friends of Ms. Menendez. , and that they often exchanged gifts.
“Don’t let them say every gift is a bribe,” said Lawrence Lustberg, Mr. Hana’s lawyer.
Mr. Menendez was the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for more than five years, giving him influence over American foreign policy. He was removed from his post as president after being indicted.
He has been indicted on 16 counts, including bribery, extortion, wire fraud, obstruction of justice and acting as a foreign agent, and faces prison time if convicted. found guilty.
Ms. Menendez is due to go on trial in July on bribery and corruption charges.
In 2017, Mr. Menendez was tried for criminally accepting favors from a Florida doctor, but the trial ended in a mistrial.
