Robert Menendez was the son of Cuban immigrants. His father was a carpenter who committed suicide when Robert was the age of twenty-three and his mother was a seamstress. In High School Robert was an excellent student that stood up for what he believed in. He attended college in Jersey City and elected to its board at the age of twenty. Robert was also a witness who testified against the Mayor, Mr. Musto on corruption charges. Robert was Mr. Musto’s aide at the time; some would say that the two were almost like father and son. Some say that he testified to keep himself out of jail; of course there is no evidence to prove so. He went on to become mayor four years later. His stepping stones to Senator include school board member, mayor, assembly man, congressman, House of Democratic …show more content…
(2005, Jeffrey Gettleman, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/10/nyregion/robert-menendez-a-politician-even-at-20.html) Now in 2015, Menendez is facing charges himself. Is Senator Menendez greedy as portrayed … or is he just sleazy … or was his conduct simply a matter of camaraderie? Senator Menendez is being charged for one count of conspiracy, one count of violating the travel act, eight counts of bribery and three counts of honest services fraud. He was also charged in making false statements. (April 2015, Dept. of Justice) His friend, Dr. Salomon Melgen was charged with him in the indictment. In my opinion, Robert Menendez was neither sleazy nor do I think he was greedy. I think he used his position to help out a friend. He was doing what all corporate America does along with most elected officials. I think that the term sleazy would mean that he would have taken advantage of more people and if he was greedy, he would have profited more from what he was doing. Menendez and Dr. Melgen have been friends for two decades and I truly believe this played into what they did. They have shared birthdays, holidays and even vacations together; maybe they