Â鶹ŮÓÅ

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been investigating Mr. Menendez for more than two years, these people said. The specific charges weren’t immediately clear, but the agency has been probing whether Mr. Menendez took things of value from a friend and donor Salomon Melgen, a prominent Florida eye doctor who is facing a probe into his billing practices, according to people familiar with the probe. After the investigation began, Mr. Menendez paid Dr. Melgen back nearly $60,000 for two round-trip flights on a private plane to the Dominican Republic, trips that the senator didn’t initially report on disclosure forms, aides have said. The FBI has also examined whether the senator improperly sought to help the doctor in his billing probe and whether Mr. Menendez may have improperly used his influence with the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of the doctor on an unrelated issue, according to people familiar with the investigation. (Barrett, 3/22)

A decision to file criminal charges against Menendez and a Florida doctor, Salomon Melgen, is expected soon, according to government officials briefed on the case. Menendez is suspected of receiving gifts in return for helping Melgen's business interests in the Caribbean. Both men deny any wrongdoing. Supporters of the anti-corruption unit say it has learned from its mistakes. It has sharpened its prosecutorial skills with dozens of state and local cases, and shifted its focus away from plea bargains toward winning cases at trial. The [Sen. Ted] Stevens case unraveled in part because the defense moved for a quick trial, catching the prosecution by surprise. (Serrano and Phelps, 3/22)

Charges are expected against Mr. Menendez in the next few weeks, and comparisons to the Stevens case are sure to follow. But officials and others close to the investigation say Mr. Menendez’s case diverges in crucial ways from the one brought against Mr. Stevens, which was dismissed after prosecutors were found to have withheld evidence. Most important, prosecutors never charged Mr. Stevens with doing anything in return for his gifts. The Justice Department’s case against Mr. Menendez, by contrast, appears to be going much further. Prosecutors believe Mr. Menendez used his office to help Salomon Melgen, a Florida eye surgeon who was a major donor to Mr. Menendez and the national Democratic Party. The department is weighing charges of bribery or accepting gratuities, according to people close to the case. (Apuzzo, 3/23)