Sobbing as she addressed the judge shortly before she was sentenced, Nadine Menendez described her husband as a manipulative liar.
In addition to prison time, Stein sentenced Nadine Menendez to three years of supervised release.
Stein said a prison term was important for general deterrence purposes: “People have to understand there are consequences.”
Nadine Menendez won’t have to surrender to prison until next summer.
Bob Menendez, 71, is serving an 11-year sentence after his conviction on charges of taking bribes, extortion, and acting as an agent of the Egyptian government.
UPTON — Former U.S. A. Sene. Before being sentenced to 4½ years in prison on Thursday for selling the influential New Jersey politician’s position in exchange for bribes of cash, gold bars, and a fancy car, Bob Menendez’s wife told a judge that her husband was “not the man I thought he was.”.
U. A. Judge Sidney H., District. Nadine Menendez, 58, was sentenced by Stein following her conviction in April of conspiring with her husband, the former Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a number of corrupt schemes, some of which involved aiding the Egyptian government, between 2018 and 2023.
Just before being sentenced, Nadine Menendez sobbed as she told the judge that her husband was a cunning liar.
She claimed, “I trusted him with my life, and he played me like a puppet.”. You can remove the blindfold. I’ve come to realize he’s not my salvation. He is not who I believed him to be. “.”.
Stein informed the defendant that she was not the person she was depicted as when the judge described her as “as manipulative, hungry for money, and the true force behind the conspiracies” during the trial of her husband and two New Jersey businessmen last year. “”.
He added, however, that she was not the “innocent observer of what was happening around you” that her attorney had claimed she was during her trial.
“You were well-advised.”. You had a purpose in your role,” he said.
Nadine Menendez partially blamed her husband when she spoke, claiming that she was tricked by his prominence and authority and that she felt pressured to comply with his requests, including making calls or scheduling meetings with specific individuals.
She admitted that, looking back, she should have known better as a grown woman, but she still stated, “I would never have imagined someone of his ranking putting me in this position.”.
Bob Menendez wrote the judge a letter before the hearing, expressing regret for not fully previewing his lawyer’s remarks about his wife during his trial and closing arguments.
“It is just incorrect to imply that Nadine was in need of money or was money-hungry, and would thus turn to others for assistance,” he wrote.
Nadine Menendez was sentenced by Stein to three years of supervised release in addition to her jail term. He claimed that he gave her leniency in part because of the trial she went through, her challenging upbringing in Lebanon, her violent romantic partners, her age, and her health issues.
For general deterrence, Stein stated that a jail sentence was crucial: “People have to understand there are consequences.”. “,”.
It won’t be until next summer that Nadine Menendez must turn herself in to prison. In order to accommodate a defense request that she be permitted to stay free and finish any necessary medical procedures prior to going to jail, Stein set a reporting date of July 10. The request received no opposition from federal prosecutors.
At least seven years in prison was the minimum sentence that the prosecution had requested.
Citing her challenging recovery from breast cancer, which was discovered shortly before last year’s trial, in which she and her husband were to stand trial, her attorney, Sarah Krissoff, requested that she only serve a year in prison. In the end, she was tried separately.
Bob Menendez, 71, was found guilty of accepting bribes, engaging in extortion, and functioning as an agent of the Egyptian government. He is currently serving an 11-year sentence after his conviction.
Prosecutors claim that Nadine Menendez was a key player in her husband’s crimes, acting as a go-between for the senator and three New Jersey businessmen who literally filled his coat pockets with tens of thousands of dollars in cash in exchange for favors he could provide using his political networks.
When the FBI raided the couple’s New Jersey home in 2022, they discovered a luxury convertible in the garage, $480,000 in cash, and gold bars valued at an estimated $150,000.
Among his other corrupt activities, the senator met with Egyptian intelligence officials and expedited Egypt’s access to the United States, according to the prosecution. S. . military assistance as a component of a convoluted scheme to support his associates who paid bribes, one of whom had commercial ties to the Egyptian government.
