Nadine Menendez, wife of former Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), was sentenced on Sept. 11 to more than four years in federal prison in a bribery case.
District Judge Sidney H. Stein of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York sentenced her to 54 months behind bars and three years of supervised release for working with her husband in accepting bribes of cash, gold bars, and a luxury car.
Stein wanted to send a message with the sentencing.
“People have to understand there are consequences,” he said.
Prosecutors asked for seven years in prison, while Nadine Menendez’s lawyer requested a year in prison.
Nadine Menendez, who was convicted in April, sobbed while addressing the court at her sentencing and blamed her husband for what she did.
“I would never have imagined someone of his ranking putting me in this position,” she said.
“The blindfold is off. I now know he’s not my savior. He’s not the man I thought he was.”
Bob Menendez, who served in Congress for 31 years, was convicted in July 2024 of accepting more than $400,000 in bribes from Qatar and Egypt that included gold bars, a car, and cash. He was sentenced to 11 years behind bars in January and reported to a federal prison in Pennsylvania in June.
“Menendez, who swore an oath to represent the United States and the State of New Jersey, instead put his high office up for sale in exchange for this hoard of bribes,” prosecutors wrote in a Jan. 9 court filing.
“Menendez’s willingness to engage in the charged scheme immediately after receiving a formal admonition for such similar conduct speaks volumes about his character.”
Bob Menendez’s lawyers asked for a lesser sentence.
“Unsurprisingly, Sen. Menendez’s conviction has rendered him a national punchline and stripped him of every conceivable personal, professional, and financial benefit,” the lawyers wrote. “Bob is now 71, with his long-built reputation in tatters. He has suffered financial and professional ruin.
“His once broad circle of friends and political allies have largely disappeared. While all defendants suffer inevitable personal and professional consequences if convicted of serious federal crimes, Sen. Menendez in many important respects has already been punished relatively more harshly due to his position.”
Three New Jersey businessmen—Wael Hana, Fred Daibes, and Jose Uribe—were also indicted. Hana and Daibes were convicted, while Uribe pleaded guilty. Daibes was sentenced to seven years in prison, while Hana was sentenced to eight years. Uribe is scheduled to be sentenced in October.
“The defendants engaged, for years, in a corruption and foreign influence scheme of stunning brazenness, breadth, and duration, resulting in exceptionally grave abuses of power at the highest levels of the Legislative Branch of the United States Government,” prosecutors wrote.
Menendez resigned from the Senate in August 2024.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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