The former New Jersey senator, Bob Menéndez, will be sentenced for corruption charges

The former American senator Bob Menéndez It is scheduled to be sentenced on Wednesday by corruption charges after being convicted of abusing the power of your office in exchange for bribes in the form of gold bars, a luxury car and other articles.

Menéndez, 71, faces decades in prison after a jury found him guilty of the 16 positions last year in his federal trial, becoming the first member of the Congress to be convicted of acting as a foreign agent.

Judgment guidelines require more than 24 to 30 years in prison, and the United States probation office recommends 12 years in prison for Menéndez, according to judicial presentations.

Federal prosecutors have said that the Democrat deserves 15 years in prison for his “naked greed” and the “rare gravity” of crimes.

“This case is the first in which a senator has been convicted of a crime that involves the abuse of a leadership position in a Senate committee,” federal prosecutors wrote in a memorandum to the judge earlier this month. “It is the first in which a senator, or any other person, has been convicted of serving as a foreign agent while he is a public official.”

Prosecutors asked the Court to impose a substantial prison sentence “to provide just a punishment for this extraordinary abuse of power and betrayal of public trust, and to deter others to participate in similar conduct.”

Menéndez’s lawyers have sought clemency, urging the Court to consider whether a non -custodial sentence, such as “home arrest and rigorous community service,” would be enough.

“The recommended sentence of probation of 12 years in prison would be draconian, probably a judgment of life and death for someone of the age and condition of Bob,” their lawyers wrote in a memorandum to the judge earlier this month. “Bob deserves mercy due to the sanctions already imposed, his age and the lack of a convincing need to impose a sentence of custody.”

The defense said Menéndez is helping his wife fighting cancer and argued that he is no longer in a position to be a repeated criminal, since he was convicted of crimes that arose from his position as a US senator.

“With this case, their political and professional careers have ended; his reputation is destroyed; and the last years of his life are in ruins. He is never sure he will commit future offenses,” their lawyers wrote. “And his current state, stripped of charge and live under a permanent shadow of misfortune and mockery, are more than enough to reflect the severity of crimes and promote respect for law.”

The former New Jersey senator, who resigned from his convictionHe has maintained his innocence.

“I have never violated my oath,” Menéndez said outside the court after the verdict in the nine -week trial. “I have never been nothing more than a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never been a foreign agent.”

Menéndez has offered twice without success for a new trial Before his sentence, more recently last week, with Judge Sidney Stein, finding the trial was just to deny his request.

Menéndez has also tried without success to postpone his sentence until later His wife, Nadine Menéndez, is tried for similar charges. His trial is scheduled to begin in March. She declared herself innocent.

Two businessmen from New Jersey, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana, who were declared guilty in the case will also be sentenced on Wednesday. Prosecutors requested a nine and 10 -year prison sentence, respectively, while their lawyers have requested two years and one year, respectively.

The prosecutors said that Menéndez promised to use his power as a senator to help Hana, who is originally from Egypt, preserving a hay meat monopoly granted to Hana by Egypt.

The prosecutors said that Menéndez also promised Daibes that he would interfere with the federal prosecution of Daibes and help the Qatar government by supporting a resolution of the Senate praising the country.

Daibes’ digital footprints were found in the cash envelopes found in the house and Menéndez’s serial numbers in the gold bars traced them to Daibes and Hana, according to prosecutors.

Another New Jersey businessman, Jose Uribe, declared himself guilty in the case before the trial. Prosecutors said Uribe paid for the Mercedes-Benz Convertible of Menéndez of $ 60,000 in exchange for helping to interrupt a criminal investigation by the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General related to Uribe.

It is scheduled to be sentenced in April.