Judge JUDGMENTS The former Senator Menéndez at 11 years for bribery and corruption – Indianapolis News | Indiana Weather | Indiana traffic

(CNN) – Former Democratic Senator of New Jersey, Bob Menéndez, was sentenced on Wednesday to 11 years in prison after his sentence for bribes and positions of corruption after taking cash, a Mercedes Benz and gold bars as bribes in return to help three entrepreneurs and the Egyptian government.

The sentence marks a dramatic fall for the legislator born of Cuban emigers who began in politics in Union City, New Jersey, and became one of the most powerful senators as president of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Menéndez was sentenced last year for 16 serious crimes for the long -term corruption plan, making him the first American senator accused and convicted of acting as an agent of a foreign government.

“The public cannot be brought to the belief that it can go out with it with bribery, fraud and betrayal,” said District Judge Sidney Stein.

“I don’t know what led you to this: greed was certainly part of that,” Stein added. “But that can’t be, I don’t think that explains everything. The arrogance was part of that, I don’t know. You will have to try to solve yourself over time. “

Menéndez cried while talking in court. “You have a punished man before you,” he told the judge.

“Apart from the family, I have lost everything that mattered to me,” he added. “For someone who spent his entire life in the public service, every day I am awake is a punishment.”

But outside the Court, Menéndez criticized prosecutors who presented the case and, although he did not publicly ask President Donald Trump for forgiveness, he appealed to the White House.

“Only in the Southern District of New York, prosecutors would allow a witness to move away from more than 10 criminal positions, including the fraud of the United States government so that they can make it lie in position. Welcome to the Southern District of New York, the savage west of political prosecutions, ”said Menéndez.

“This process is political and is damaged to the center,” he added. “I hope that President Trump cleans the Cess well and restores the integrity of the system.”

Adam Fee, Menéndez’s lawyer, argued in the Court that the former senator deserved credit for his decades in public service.

“For almost 50 years it has been a tireless server of its community, its state and its country,” Fee said. “Despite his decades of service, he is known more widely as ‘Gold Bar Bob’.”

During the trial, the jury listened to evidence that during the search for the homemade FBI agents of the senator they found gold stuffed bars and envelopes, some internal shoes and in a pocket of a jacket with the name of the senator.

In return, prosecutors alleged that Menéndez pressed the United States Department of Agriculture for a monopoly of the halal meat certification that benefited one of the entrepreneurs, promoted military aid to Egypt and “modulated their criticisms” on the abuses of the country’s human rights. He also tried to manipulate with two criminal investigations linked to the other two entrepreneurs.

Two others involved were also sentenced on Wednesday. The real estate developer Fred Daibes was sentenced to seven years in prison, while Wael Hana, who runs a halal certification business, received a sentence of eight years. José Uribe, who declared himself guilty and testified in the trial against the three men, will be sentenced at the end of this year.

Prosecutors of the United States Prosecutor’s Office in Manhattan asked Stein to sentence Menéndez at least 15 years in prison and order him to pay millions of dollars in confiscation and fines “to provide a just punishment for this extraordinary abuse of power and betrayal of public trust. “

Paul Monteleoni argued in the Court that Menéndez had more power than the average senator that occupied his leadership position in the Foreign Relations Committee and committed a serious violation of public confidence.

“Absolutely did something good in his government time, of course,” said Monteleoni. “But using their power to help people, is what they were supposed to do. It is what was chosen to do. “

The former 71 -year -old legislator, who had firmly maintained his innocence, presented more than 100 support letters, including former Cyprus president, New Jersey local politicians, religious and constituent figures.

“We respectfully affirm that, despite his conviction, Bob deserves mercy due to the sanctions already imposed, his age and the lack of a convincing need to impose a sentence of custody,” their lawyers wrote to the judge. “Until this conviction spoiled his reputation, his career and his life have been held mainly for their work on behalf of the impotent and oppressed,” they added.

His lawyers asked the judge to allow Menéndez to remain out of prison while his sentence appeals.

The criminal trial was not the first for the former senator, who was previously accused of positions of corruption in 2015 for allegedly accepting bribes of a rich ophthalmologist in exchange for political favors. After a mistrial In 2017, Menéndez was acquitted by several positions In 2018 with the Department of Justice dropping those that remained.

The lifelong politician was accused in September 2023 together with his wife Nadine, but his essays were cut after cancer diagnosed and began to receive treatment. Nadine Menéndez declared himself innocent and is scheduled to go to trial in March.