Former Sen. Bob Menendez to be sentenced Wednesday for corruption and bribery scheme
CNN
Former Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez could face more than a decade in prison when he is sentenced Wednesday for taking cash, a Mercedes Benz and gold bars as bribes in exchange for helping three New Jersey businessmen and the government of Egypt.
Former Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez could face more than a decade in prison when he is sentenced Wednesday for taking cash, a Mercedes Benz and gold bars as bribes in exchange for helping three New Jersey businessmen and the government of Egypt. Menendez was convicted in July of 16 felony counts for the long-running corruption scheme following a nine-week trial. He became the first US senator charged and convicted of acting as an agent of a foreign government. Dozens of witnesses testified, including one of the businessmen involved in the scheme. His sentencing marks a dramatic fall for the lawmaker born to Cuban emigres who got his start in politics in Union City, New Jersey. Menendez beat one federal indictment on bribery charges in 2018 and became one of the most powerful senators as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee – a position he gave up after he was charged in the current bribery scheme in 2023. Prosecutors with the US attorney’s office in Manhattan have asked Judge Sidney Stein to sentence the former New Jersey senator to “at least 15 years” in prison and order him to pay millions of dollars in forfeiture and fines “to provide just punishment for this extraordinary abuse of power and betrayal of public trust.” “Menendez’s conduct may be the most serious for which a U.S. Senator has been convicted in the history of the Republic,” prosecutors wrote. The US Probation Office recommends a sentence of 12 years in prison. The 71-year-old lawmaker, who had adamantly maintained his innocence, has submitted more than 100 letters of support, including from the former president of Cyprus, local New Jersey politicians, religious figures, and constituents. His lawyers are asking for no prison and at least two years of “rigorous community service.”
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