You and the book area misinformed.
I repeat:
The DR hasn’t had a dictator for more than 50 years.
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The Menendez/Meglen friendship goes back to the 1990s, when MMenendez entered the House of Representatives in 1993. He began regularly visiting the Dominican Republic---and took refuge there when under press scrutiny here for a Hudson County rental deal gone sour. Menendez freely gave press interviews in Spanish until the furor died down stateside.
Dr. Melgen has a home in Casa de Campo, a gated oceanfront resort where houses cost as much as $20 million and which has been home to some of the country’s richest residents, like Oscar de la Renta. Both enjoyed a good cigar and playing golf; Casa de Campo has several places to play, designed by the renowned course architect Pete Dye.
Dr. Melgen itched to play power broker, and his wife began donating to Mr. Menendez’s Congressional campaigns in the late 1990s.....their contributions grew, along with their friendship.
By the time of the 2009-10 election cycle, when Mr. Menendez headed the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Dr. Melgen became an important fund-raiser for the effort. In May 2010, he flew the senator to the Dominican Republic on his private plane and held a fund-raiser at his posh home. He and his wife gave the committee $60,000 and helped raised even more.
Later that summer, Dr. Melgen also flew Mr. Menendez to the Dominican Republic for the two short personal vacations, in August and September. Aides said it was simply because of sloppy paperwork that the senator did not repay Dr. Melgen for plane trips that would have cost $6-7,000on commercial airlines. After reports surfaced, the senator recently sent Dr. Melgen’s company a check for $58,500.
Also in 2010, Dr. Melgen---witj no port experience--- bought ownership interest in ICSSI, a company based in the DR that had been awarded a govt contract to provide extensive screening of cargo from ports in the Dominican Republic.