Bob Menendez, New Jersey’s disgraced former U.S. senator, sentenced to 11 years in prison after corruption conviction

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Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez has been sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted on federal bribery charges and acting as foreign agent.

Menendez, who represented New Jersey for more than 18 years in the U.S. Senate, was found guilty last July of trading his influence in Washington in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars and a luxury vehicle.

Before the sentence was handed down, Menendez said, “Other than family, I have lost everything I ever cared about, every day I’m awake is a punishment.”

The once-powerful Democrat, who insisted he was innocent, was convicted on 16 counts of bribery, conspiracy, obstruction of justice, extortion and acting as a foreign agent. He said he always put American interests first and the gold bars belonged to his wife, Nadine. A month later he resigned from the Senate.

Donald Sherman, the executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, D.C., said Menendez’s blatant corruption made a mockery of the Senate.

“Sen. Menendez’s sentence makes sense, and it is an example of the justice system working to hold someone accountable for violating the public trust,” he said.

Sherman said he believes the message is “the system can work if it is allowed to work, if prosecutors are allowed to be persistent.”

He also said, “I think Mr. Menendez escaped accountability for prior misconduct, but he is certainly being held accountable right now.”

Lawyers for Menendez had asked for less than two years in prison, saying their client had become a “national punchline” despite decades of good deeds, and that his life was in tatters.

Prosecutors had asked Judge Sidney Stein to sentence Menendez to at least 15 years in prison, describing his conduct as possibly “the most serious for which a U.S. senator has been convicted in the history of the republic.”

During the trial, prosecutors said Menendez had used his political influence to benefit three New Jersey businessmen: Fred Daibes, Wael Hana and Jose Uribe, as well as the governments of Egypt and Qatar. In exchange, prosecutors said the businessmen had given Menendez an assortment of valuable gifts.

When the FBI searched Menendez’s Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey home, they found close to $500,000 in cash — some of it tucked inside shoes and stuffed in the pockets of clothing in the couple’s closets — and an estimated $150,000 worth of gold bars. They also seized a Mercedes-Benz convertible that had been given to Mrs. Menendez.

During his trial, Menendez’s sister Caridad Gonzalez testified that hiding money at home is “a Cuban thing.” She said their family had fled Cuba in 1951, and valuables had been hidden because “in Cuba they took everything away from you whether you liked it or not.”

Gov. Phil Murphy, a fellow Democrat, released the following statement after the sentence was announced:

“Today marks the sad end to a long and largely productive career in public service.

“Sen. Menendez accomplished many things on behalf of our state and our residents, but sadly he will be remembered for putting his own interests and financial gain ahead of the public interest. At a time when our country is deeply divided, it is critical that we hold our elected leaders to the highest professional and ethical standards.

“I want to thank the prosecutors, law enforcement officials, attorneys, judges, and jurors for ensuring that the rule of law was upheld.”

After Menendez was indicted in September of 2023, then-Congressman Andy Kim announced he would run against Menendez in the Democratic primary, saying, “I believe New Jersey deserves better. We cannot jeopardize the Senate or compromise our country’s integrity. I believe it’s time we restore faith in our democracy, and that’s why I am stepping up and running for Senate.”

Kim won the Democratic nomination last June and was elected to the U.S. Senate in the 2024 November general election.

Nadine Menendez is facing many of the same charges as her husband. Her trial, which is scheduled to begin in March, was delayed because she is battling breast cancer.

Menendez is the first ever senator in United States history to be found guilty of being a foreign government agent. In 2015, he was charged with trading his political influence to help a wealthy Florida eye doctor in exchange for campaign contributions and luxury vacations. The jury in the case could not reach a verdict and charges were eventually dropped.