NEW YORK (AP) — Nadine Menendez, the wife of former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, is facing sentencing for her role in exchanging her husband’s political influence for bribes, involving both cash and gold bars.
Nadine, 58, faces a potential prison term ranging from one year to several years following her conviction. She was found guilty of collaborating with her husband, the former Democratic chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in multiple corrupt activities, including those linked to aiding the Egyptian government.
At Thursday’s hearing, Judge Sidney H. Stein expressed his intention to impose a sentence “substantially below” the federal guideline of about 20 years. The Probation Department previously suggested an eight-year sentence.
Prosecutors argue that Nadine played a significant and vital role in her husband’s illegal activities, acting as a go-between for the senator and three businessmen from New Jersey. These businessmen allegedly filled his coat pockets with cash in exchange for his political influence.
Prosecutors have requested that she spend at least seven years in prison.
Her lawyers have sought leniency, saying she shouldn’t spend more than a year in prison after a life of good deeds and recent health problems.
In a 2022 FBI search of their New Jersey residence, authorities discovered $480,000 in cash, gold bars valued around $150,000, and a luxury convertible in the garage.
Bob Menendez, now 71, is currently serving an 11-year sentence following his conviction last year for accepting bribes, extortion, and acting on behalf of the Egyptian government.
Prosecutors said that, among his other corrupt acts, the senator met with Egyptian intelligence officials and speeded that country’s access to U.S. military aid as part of a complex effort to help his bribe-paying associates, one of whom had business dealings with the Egyptian government.
Nadine Menendez was tried separately because she was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly before she was to go to trial. She was convicted in April.
