New York (EFE).- Nadine Men\u00e9ndez was sentenced on Thursday to four and a half years in prison for her involvement in an influence-peddling scheme orchestrated by her husband former Senator Bob Men\u00e9ndez in exchange for cash bribes, gold bars, and a luxury vehicle from foreign governments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As proven in two separate trials, Men\u00e9ndez, sentenced to 11 years in prison, accepted gifts totalling millions of dollars from Egypt and Qatar in exchange for favours while he was in office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nadine Men\u00e9ndez, 58, was informed of her sentence on Thursday at a federal court in New York, where she had already been found guilty in April of these criminal practices committed between 2018 and 2023. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bob Men\u00e9ndez, her husband was a congressman and senator for New Jersey for three decades and also served as chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Judge Sidney H. Stein of the US District Court for the Southern District of New York limited Nadine Men\u00e9ndez’s sentence, taking into account her difficult childhood in Lebanon, toxic personal relationships, and stage 3 breast cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Prosecutor General’s Office had requested that she serve at least seven years in prison, while the US Probation Department recommended a sentence of eight years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prosecutors claim that Nadine Men\u00e9ndez played a crucial role in her husband’s crimes, acting as an intermediary between him and three New Jersey businessmen who were also involved in the scheme to obtain political favours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before her sentence was announced, she addressed the court in tears, partly blaming her husband, whose power and position she said had misled her, and that she felt obligated to do what he wanted, according to local media reports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I would never have imagined someone of his ranking putting me in this position,” said Bob Men\u00e9ndez’s wife, according to the press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When the FBI raided their family home in New Jersey in 2022, they found a convertible in the garage and 13 gold bars hidden in a safe in their bedroom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They also found half a million dollars in bills distributed throughout the house, hidden inside boots and in suit pockets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bob Men\u00e9ndez, aged 71, is currently serving an 11-year sentence after being found guilty in 2024 of charges including bribery, extortion, and acting as an agent of the Egyptian government to accelerate the country’s access to US military aid as part of an intricate criminal network. EFE<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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