The New Jersey Democrat was convicted in July of various corruption-related charges
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted in July of corruption and bribery.
“Somewhere along the way, you became, I’m sorry to say, a corrupt politician,” District Judge Sidney Stein told Menendez during sentencing. “The public cannot be led to the belief that you can get away with bribery, fraud and betrayal.”
During his statement to the court, a tearful Menendez, now 71 years old, described himself as a “chastened man.”
“Other than family, I have lost everything I ever cared about,” the former senator said. “For someone who spent his entire life in public service, every day I’m awake is a punishment.”
Menendez’s sentence is the longest ever imposed upon a former U.S. senator.
In September 2023, Menedez was indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and conspiracy to commit extortion. Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York allege that Menendez and his wife “agreed to and did accept hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using Menendez’s power and influence as a Senator to seek to protect and enrich,” three men with connections to the Egyptian government. Prosecutors later leveled additional charges against him related to the abuse of his elected office to unlawfully aid the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
Authorities who raided Menendez’s home found solid gold bars and envelopes stuffed with cash, all evidence of the long-running racket run by the then chair of the Senate Foreign Relation Committee. Although Menendez stepped down from the committee, he refused to resign from his seat in the Senate until after his conviction.
The sentencing marks an end to one of the most blatant abuses of elected office in American history, and — as Judge Stein put it — Menendez will have “plenty of time” to reflect on his fall from grace.
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM