Former US Senator Bob Menendez gets 11 years in prison for taking bribes and acting as agent of Egypt

“You were successful, powerful, you stood astatine the apex of our governmental system,” the justice said. ”Somewhere on the way, and I don’t cognize erstwhile it was, you mislaid your mode and moving for the nationalist bully became moving for your good.”

Menendez’s actions, the justice said, feeds the cynicism of voters.

“What’s been the result?” helium said, noting a lengthy probe of a five-year crime. “You mislaid your legislature seat. You mislaid your chairmanship and you mislaid your bully name.”

Menendez, 71, who tearfully told the justice successful tribunal that helium was chastened, was defiant erstwhile helium stepped earlier cameras astatine a slope of microphones extracurricular the Manhattan courthouse, saying: “I americium innocent.”

He past railed against the judicial strategy and aligned himself with President Donald Trump’s caller criticisms of the judicial system, peculiarly successful New York City.

“President Trump is right. This process is governmental and it’s corrupted to the core. I anticipation President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system,” helium said, speechmaking from a expanse of insubstantial and calling himself the unfortunate of “the Wild West of governmental prosecutions.”

Prosecutors had requested a 15-year situation word for Menendez, who was convicted of aggregate charges including acting arsenic an cause for Egypt for selling his once-considerable clout successful Washington for bribes worthy hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., departs Manhattan national tribunal aft his sentencing connected a bribery conviction, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2025, successful New York. (AP Photo)

Given a accidental to talk successful court, Menendez broke down respective times arsenic helium described his accomplishments.

“You truly don’t cognize the antheral you are astir to sentence,” Menendez told Stein arsenic helium stood earlier him with his hands successful his pockets, but erstwhile helium wiped his look respective times with a tissue.

“Your honor, I americium acold from a cleanable man. I person made much than my stock of mistakes and atrocious decisions,” helium added. “I’ve done acold much bully than bad. I inquire you, your honor, to justice maine successful that context.”

Attorney Adam Fee told Stein to springiness Menendez recognition for a “lifetime of bonzer nationalist work and idiosyncratic sacrifices.”

“Despite his decades of service, helium is present known much wide arsenic golden barroom Bob,” Fee said.

Menendez’s lawyers had said anterior to the sentencing that their lawsuit deserves little than 2 years successful prison, describing however the lad of Cuban immigrants roseate from poorness to go “the epitome of the American Dream” earlier his condemnation had “rendered him a nationalist punchline.”

He’d beaten a prosecution erstwhile before.

In 2015, helium was charged with selling his power to a affluent Florida oculus doc and entrepreneur who prosecutors said lavished him with luxury vacations and run contributions.

But the assemblage successful that lawsuit couldn’t scope a unanimous verdict. Federal prosecutors dropped the lawsuit alternatively than enactment him connected proceedings again.

Before sentencing Menendez, Stein sentenced 2 men convicted of bribing Menendez, giving Fred Daibes, a existent property developer, a seven-year situation word and Wael Hana, an entrepreneur, 8 years down bars.

Prior to the announcement of his sentence, Daibes, 67, tearfully told Stein the assemblage verdict had near him “borderline suicidal,” and requested leniency truthful that helium could attraction for his 30-year-old autistic son.

Hana told the judge, “I americium an guiltless man.”

A 3rd businessman pleaded blameworthy and testified against Menendez astatine a proceedings past year.

Menendez resigned from the Senate aft his condemnation past year, though helium mislaid overmuch of his powerfulness successful autumn 2023 erstwhile the charges against him were revealed and helium was forced to surrender his almighty station arsenic president of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The proceedings traced Menendez’s dealings with Egyptian officials and his quest to assistance 3 men who showered him with lucrative gifts recovered during a 2022 raid connected the Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, location helium shared with his wife, Nadine. His woman faces a March proceedings connected galore of the aforesaid charges arsenic her husband.

FBI agents who searched the location recovered $480,000, immoderate of it stuffed wrong boots and the pockets of covering hung successful the couple’s closets. They besides seized golden bars worthy an estimated $150,000.

Prosecutors said Menendez had “put his precocious bureau up for merchantability successful speech for this hoard of bribes,” including by serving Egypt’s interests arsenic helium worked to support a nutrient certification monopoly Hana had established with the Egyptian government.

Among different things, Menendez provided Egyptian officials with accusation astir the unit astatine the U.S. Embassy successful Cairo and ghostwrote a missive to chap senators encouraging them to assistance a clasp connected $300 cardinal successful subject assistance to Egypt.

Prosecutors said that for different bribes, Menendez attempted to transportation a national authoritative successful New Jersey to spell casual connected Daibes, a politically influential existent property developer accused of slope fraud.

And astatine the trial, different businessman, Jose Uribe, testified that helium helped Nadine Menendez get a Mercedes-Benz convertible aft the legislator sought to unit authorities prosecutors to driblet transgression probes of his associates.

Menendez has insisted that helium is guiltless of immoderate crime, saying repeatedly that his interactions with Egyptian officials were mean for the caput of the Foreign Relations Committee, and that helium ever enactment American interests first. He denied taking immoderate bribes and said the golden bars belonged to his wife.

In tribunal papers, Menendez’s lawyers described however Menendez devoted overmuch of his beingness to his state and his assemblage aft helium was scarred by the aboriginal nonaccomplishment of his father, who killed himself erstwhile Menendez was 23 aft helium was incapable to wage disconnected gambling debts.

They described a 50-year past of nationalist work successful heroic terms, tracing a vocation successful which Menendez was politician of Union City, New Jersey, a authorities lawmaker, a subordinate of the U.S. House and past a legislator from 2006 to 2024.