US Senator Bob Menendez Sentenced to 11 Years in Prison
“At some point along the way… you lost your way,” said Judge Sidney Stein when announcing the sentence.
HAVANA TIMES – Former Cuban-American Democratic Senator Bob Menendez, one of the most powerful politicians in Washington, was sentenced on Wednesday to 11 years in prison for corruption, fraud, and working as an agent for the Egyptian government, US media reported.
The 71-year-old, whose home was found with stacks of dollars and gold bars, had been found guilty by a jury in July on 16 charges of bribery, fraud, extortion, obstruction of justice, and receiving payments to favor the Egyptian government and help a Qatari fund.
“At some point along the way… you lost your way,” said Judge Sidney Stein when announcing the sentence. “Working for the public good became working for your own good.”
The prosecution had requested at least 15 years in prison for the former senator from New Jersey, who resigned from the powerful chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when the case broke in October 2023. The defense, for its part, had requested only 27 months with “at least two years of rigorous community service.”
“I’m going to ask for clemency, not for me, but for Anthony,” said Menéndez, crying upon hearing the decision, referring to his autistic son, The New York Times reported.
In 2022, police discovered over $480,000 in cash hidden between clothes and shoes and in a safe, as well as 13 gold bars worth $150,000 and a convertible Mercedes Benz during a raid of Menendez and his wife Nadine Arslanian’s home.
According to the prosecution, this son of Cuban immigrants who arrived in the US in the 1950s, before the Cuban revolution, used his power and influence between 2018 and 2022, along with his wife, to help businessmen Wael Hana, Fred Daibes, and Jose Uribe secure favors in exchange for bribes.
Hana and Daibes, Egyptian-Americans and co-defendants in this same case, were also convicted of bribery. Hana received 8 years in prison and a $1.3 million fine, while Daibes got 7 years in prison and a $1.75 million fine.
Menendez’s wife is scheduled to stand trial starting March 18, as she was unable to do so with the other defendants due to health problems.
Excluded from the Democratic ranks, Menendez had announced that he would run as an independent in the November elections.
A senator since 2006 and a former member of the House of Representatives for 14 years, Menendez was a fierce opponent of the normalization of relations with Cuba, a staunch enemy of Venezuela and China, and a firm supporter of Israel.
First published in Spanish by 14ymedio and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.