This is on the media's midweek podcast. I'm Brooke Gladstone. Yesterday, former Senator Bob Menendez began an 11-year prison sentence for political corruption. Last week, we shared the first episode of a mini-series about Gold Bar Bob, a deeper look into the man behind the headlines, reported by Nancy Solomon for

WNYC. And this week's installment introduces a key chapter in Menendez's political downfall,

his romance with a woman named Nadine Arslanian.

On New Year's Eve, 2017,

life was looking up for Senator Bob Menendez.

He had just finished another trial on bribery charges, hung jury.

Tracy Telly is the New York Times reporter I talked within the last episode.

She covers New Jersey.

So he's free for the first time in many years because he'd been under investigation since 2015.

Menendez was also romantically free.

His fiancé had dumped him right before the 2017 trial, and a tall blonde woman he'd had his eye on sent him a text on New Year's Eve.

And you could see her, you know, trying to drum up a new relationship with this guy who suddenly no longer charged with bribery.

Five years later, transcripts of these texts ended up as evidence in court. In four and a half hours, it's going to be your birthday, the message from Nadine Arcelainian

says, I will text you happy birthday, and I hope it's going to be the best year ever for you.

And I would like to take you out to lunch for your birthday.

I'm looking forward to catching up, Nadine.

The senator replied,

Would love to get together, but as I said once before,

I don't want to interfere with your boyfriend.

A few weeks later, they appear to have resolved that issue.

On February 2nd, they went out on a date to Acapella West,

an upscale Italian restaurant in Jersey,

...