The government's star witness in the federal corruption case against Sen. Bob Menendez took the stand on Friday and explained his part in the alleged bribery scheme.

Jose Uribe is one of the original defendants accused of paying bribes to Menendez and his wife. Uribe has pleaded guilty to bribing a federal official and is now cooperating with prosecutors.

One of the first things he told jurors was that he along with help from Wael Hana bribed Menendez.

"I agreed to provide a car for Nadine to get the power and influence from Senator Menendez,” Uribe told the court. “The deal is to kill and stop all investigation."

The car Uribe referred to was a $60,000 Mercedes-Benz, which he says he paid for.

Uribe wanted Menendez to help a friend who was being charged with insurance fraud. He was told that his own family's company, Phoenix Risk Management, may be investigated if his friend Elvis Parra was convicted.

On Thursday, former New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal testified that Menendez reached out to him twice about Parra’s case. Both times, Menendez first brought up what he called concerns about how Hispanics are being treated by the insurance fraud prosecutor.

The defense says the meeting with Grewal was innocent and Menendez never specifically spoke of Uribe or asked Grewal for a favor.

Menendez has asserted he's never taken a bribe.