Today, Tuesday 12 February, Dominican newspapers are picking up on the news of Senator Bob Menendez from New Jersey and his support for one of his major campaign contributors, Dominican doctor Salomon E. Melgen, who is based in Florida. According to the New York Times, the senator tried to discourage any plan by the United States government to donate port security equipment to the Dominican Republic. He mentioned his concern that the advanced screening gear might undermine the efforts of a private company – run by his major campaign contributor – to do the work. Last month’s intervention with the Department of Homeland Security came even though Senator Menendez has publicly chastised the Obama administration for not doing more to combat the surging drug traffic moving through Dominican ports.
It also came shortly after Dr. Melgen arranged to meet with a senior State Department official, accompanied by a former aide to Menendez, in a related push to protect the port security contract, which is worth as much as US$500 million over 20 years.
Officials at the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department declined to comment on the allegations, and a State Department official pointed to an investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee into related matters. Menendez has broadly rejected any suggestion that his official actions are driven by an attempt to favor Dr. Melgen, a wealthy Florida ophthalmologist who has repeatedly flown the senator on his private plane and has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to support Democrats in the Senate as well as Mr. Menendez’s re-election campaign.
www.nytimes.com/2013/02/11/us/politics/menendez-discouraged-giving-port-security-equipment-to-dominicans.html?hp&_r=0
www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/02/11/why-bob-menendez-is-still-hanging-on/