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Nadine Menendez, the wife of former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, faces sentencing Thursday in her federal bribery case.
She was convicted in April of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and gold bars in exchange for political favors. Other alleged bribes included a Mercedes-Benz, money for a mortgage payment and for a low-to-no-show job.
Prosecutors are calling for Nadine Menendez to serve at least seven years in prison, but her defense has requested a one-year sentence, citing her ongoing cancer treatments.
After both sides presented their arguments Thursday, Nadine Menendez tearfully addressed the court. She told Judge Sidney H. Stein that Bob Menendez was like a savior following her divorce from a previous abusive relationship, and that she blindly did what he asked. She said she never imagined someone with his power and rank putting her in a position to do something illegal.
She added she takes full accountability, saying, “I was wrong about my husband.”
Bob Menendez resigned from the U.S. Senate weeks after being found guilty for his role in the bribery scheme, and he is currently serving an 11-year sentence.
“Nadine Menendez and Sen. Menendez were partners in crime”
An FBI search of the couple’s home turned up more than $480,000 in cash stuffed in envelopes and hidden in various places, along with gold bars and $70,000 in Nadine Menendez’s safe deposit box.
During opening statements of her trial, prosecutors told jurors “she did the dirty work,” alleging Nadine and Bob Menendez “engaged in a corrupt relationship with three New Jersey associates and businessmen” and provided Egyptian government officials with sensitive information.
“Nadine Menendez and Sen. Menendez were partners in crime. Over the span of five years, Nadine Menendez agreed to accept and accepted all sorts of bribes — including gold bars, cash, a Mercedes-Benz convertible, and a no-show job — all in exchange for the Senator’s corrupt official acts,” Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said after her guilty verdict. “Together, Nadine Menendez and the senator placed their own interests and greed ahead of the interests of the citizens the senator was elected to serve.”
She did not speak after the verdict, but her defense attorney said they were devastated. Meanwhile, her husband has vowed to appeal his conviction.
contributed to this report.
