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Former NJ Sen. Bob Menendez to be sentenced today on bribery charges
By
Samantha Max
Published Jan 29, 2025
Modified Jan 29, 2025
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(Photo by Adam Gray/Getty Images)
By
Samantha Max
Published Jan 29, 2025
Modified Jan 29, 2025
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Former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez is expected to be sentenced in Manhattan federal court Wednesday.
A jury found Menendez, 71, guilty in July of 16 counts of bribery, helping a foreign government and obstruction of justice, following a nine-week trial. The U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York accused Menendez of trading his political power for gold bars, cash and a Mercedes Benz, among other things.
Federal prosecutors asked a judge to sentence him to at least 15 years in prison for abusing his power as the leader of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Menendez’s attorneys have called him an “American patriot” and asked the judge for a new trial. Justice Sidney H. Stein rejected their request last week.
Stein sentenced New Jersey real estate tycoon Fred Daibes to seven years in prison and fined him $1.75 million Wednesday morning, according to Nicholas Biase, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office. New Jersey businessman Wael Hana, who was also convicted in the scheme, was sentenced to 97 months in prison and was also ordered to pay a $1.25 million fine and forfeit $125,000, Biase said. Menendez’s wife, Nadine Menendez, is expected to be tried separately after recovering from health issues.
This story has been updated with sentencing information for Menendez's codefendants.
Tagged
public safety
new jersey
Politics
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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