Ex-US senator jailed 11 years for corruption
NEW YORK—A judge sentenced a powerful former US senator to 11 years imprisonment Wednesday, after he was convicted of corruption following the discovery of gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash at his home.
Robert Menendez, a 71-year-old Democrat from New Jersey, was convicted of extortion, obstruction of justice and accepting bribes to perform favors for businessmen with connections to Egypt and Qatar.
“Somewhere along the way … you lost your way,” judge Sidney Stein said in announcing the 11-year sentence.
“Working for the public good became working for your good.” Menendez, who had served as chair of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had vowed to appeal the verdict handed down in July 2024, and on Wednesday he asked for leniency from the judge ahead of his sentencing.
