Former US Senator Bob Menendez has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for corruption and bribery.
Federal prosecutors accuse the 71-year-old Menendez and his wife of accepting gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash in exchange for Menendez's influence in favor of the Egyptian government and for his interference with law enforcement agencies investigating the businessmen.
Menendez has pleaded not guilty to charges of accepting bribes from three New Jersey businessmen. The senator's wife and businessmen Jose Uribe, 56, Fred Dybes, 66, and Wael Hanna, 40, have also pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Appeal not accepted
The former New Jersey senator had appealed the conviction, arguing that his corruption conviction should be overturned because the jury considered improper evidence during their verdict deliberations. However, the appeal was denied by Judge Sidney Stein.
Menendez was also indicted on corruption charges in 2015 for allegedly taking bribes from a wealthy ophthalmologist in exchange for political favors. After a mistrial in 2017, Menendez was acquitted of many charges in 2018, with the Justice Department dropping the remaining charges.
Source: tovima.gr
