The spouse of former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is being sentenced for her conviction for promoting her husband’s affect for bribes of money and gold bars.
Nadine Menendez, 58, may get as little as a yr in jail or a number of years behind bars after she was convicted of colluding together with her husband, the previous Democratic chairman of the Senate International Relations Committee, in a wide range of corrupt schemes, some involving helping the Egyptian authorities.
Quickly after the listening to started Thursday, Choose Sidney H. Stein mentioned he deliberate to condemn her to a jail time period “substantially below” the federal sentencing guideline vary of roughly 20 years. The Probation Division had beneficial an eight-year jail time period.
Prosecutors say she performed a big and essential position in her husband’s crimes, serving as an middleman between the senator and three New Jersey businessmen who actually lined his coat pockets with tens of 1000’s of {dollars} in money in return for favors he may ship together with his political clout.
Prosecutors have requested that she spend at the very least seven years in jail.
Prosecutors mentioned Nadine Menendez was a associate in her husband’s crimes, serving to to gather payoffs from three New Jersey businessmen in a wide-ranging scheme. The protection argued among the gold she obtained was not bribes, however moderately had been handed down from her household or had been presents from businessmen who had been longtime buddies. NBC New York’s Jonathan Dienst experiences.
Her attorneys have sought leniency, saying she shouldn’t spend greater than a yr in jail after a lifetime of good deeds and up to date well being issues.
Throughout a 2022 FBI raid on the couple’s New Jersey residence, investigators discovered $480,000 in money, gold bars price an estimated $150,000 and a luxurious convertible within the storage.
Bob Menendez, 71, is serving an 11-year sentence after his conviction final yr on expenses of taking bribes, extortion, and appearing as an agent of the Egyptian authorities.
Prosecutors mentioned that, amongst his different corrupt acts, the senator met with Egyptian intelligence officers and speeded that nation’s entry to U.S. army assist as a part of a posh effort to assist his bribe-paying associates, considered one of whom had enterprise dealings with the Egyptian authorities.
Nadine Menendez was tried individually as a result of she was recognized with breast most cancers shortly earlier than she was to go to trial. She was convicted in April.
