Former three-term New Jersey senator is the first to be found guilty of acting as a foreign agent. Former New Jersey senator Bob Menendez has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for his involvement in a years-long corruption scheme in which he wielded his political influence to conduct favors for the Egyptian government in exchange for lavish gifts.
![[Stacks of cash were found hidden in jackets, shoes, bags and more in the Menendezes’ closet]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/09/22/16/US_Senator_Indicted_27394.jpg)
Once a three-term senator who chaired the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez sat before a federal judge in downtown Manhattan on Wednesday, flanked by lawyers, to receive his punishment after becoming the first senator to ever be convicted of acting as a foreign agent.
![[Federal authorities allegedly seized $100,000 in gold bars from the home of Menendez]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/09/22/15/Screen%20Shot%202023-09-22%20at%2010.05.16%20AM.png)
Menendez, 71, accepted bribes – in the form of lavish gifts – from three New Jersey businessmen who sought his help in meddling in state and federal criminal investigations and securing lucrative deals with officials from Egypt and Qatar. Roughly six months ago, a jury found Menendez guilty on 16 counts including bribery, extortion, corruption, obstruction of justice, and acting as a foreign agent for Egypt – what prosecutors described as “the most serious” conduct that a senator has been convicted for “in the history of the republic.”.
![[Nadine Menendez allegedly plaid a pivotal role in the scheme]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2023/10/23/05/Menendez_Bribery_57624.jpg)
When federal agents descended upon Menendez’s home in 2022 and 2023 they made a startling discovery. More than $100k worth of gold bars, one found in a Ziploc bag, stuffed in a closet, a Mercedez-Benz convertible parked in the driveway, and more than $480,000 in cash stuffed into coat jacket pockets, shoes and bags.
