On Tuesday, former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez (D) reported to a Pennsylvania federal prison to serve out his 11-year bribery and corruption sentence.
Menendez was convicted on all 16 counts last July. At trial, federal prosecutors argued that the longtime senator accepted bribes of gold bars, hundreds of thousands in cash and other luxury items from three New Jersey businessmen in exchange for favors that benefited the trio, as well as the governments of Egypt and Qatar.
In a 2022 raid of Menendez’s home, the FBI uncovered approximately $480,000 in cash and gold bars valued at about $150,000 hidden in clothing, shoes, bags and boxes in various locations. A luxury Mercedes-Benz convertible was also at the house.
Prosecutors pointed to payments allegedly made through a sham consulting firm and alleged that Menendez used his position to help Egypt secure $300 million in U.S. military aid, influence U.S. policy in Egypt and Qatar and prevent criminal probes into his associates, Wael Hana, Fred Daibes, and Jose Uribe. Uribe testified against his co-defendants. (RELATED: United States Senator Bob Menendez Charged With Aiding Middle East Government)
Menendez, 71, was convicted of counts including bribery, extortion, wire fraud, obstruction of justice, acting as a foreign agent for Egypt, and multiple conspiracy charges. (RELATED: Bob Menendez Sentenced On Corruption And Bribery Charges)
Despite maintaining his innocence, Menendez resigned from his seat on the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee a month after his conviction. He had been in the Senate since 2006.
Menendez spent the last day before reporting to the federal prison in eastern Pennsylvania with his wife, Nadine, who was also convicted in the bribery scheme and is set to be sentenced in September.
Menendez’s lawyers revealed that he is expected to be housed at a facility in eastern Pennsylvania that has both a medium-security prison and a minimum-security prison camp. Given the white-collar nature of his crimes, it is likely he will end up in the camp, reports indicate.
The New York Post noted that the prison, the Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill, is about 118 miles west of New York City. It is home to about 1,200 inmates, including ex-New York City organized crime boss James Coonan and former gas station owner Gurmeet Singh Dhinsa, whom the New York Post dubbed “Gas-Station Gotti” for his ruthless, violent ways.
Last week, a federal appeals court rejected Menendez’s last-ditch effort to remain free on bail while he pushes to get his bribery conviction overturned. A three-judge panel on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied his bail motion.
Pleading for leniency, Menendez told a judge at his sentencing in January: “I am far from a perfect man. I have made more than my share of mistakes and bad decisions. I’ve done far more good than bad.”
Menendez, who twice voted to impeach President Trump during his first term, has reportedly been angling for a pardon from the commander-in-chief as he prepares to head to prison.
A Trump source, however, told The New York Post that the president-elect is unlikely to look past Menendez twice voting to impeach him during his first presidency.
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Menendez have many criminal pals in the Democrat party