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Nadine Menendez, wife of former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, was sentenced to four and a half years in prison Thursday for her role in a corruption scheme that saw the couple accept gold bars, cash and luxury gifts in exchange for political favors.
The 58-year-old delivered an emotional plea for leniency before U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein in Manhattan federal court, portraying herself as manipulated by her politically powerful husband, who was known for his anti-Türkiye stance during his tenure in Congress.
"I put my life in his hands and he strung me like a puppet," Nadine Menendez said through tears. "I was wrong about my husband. The blindfold is off. I now know he is not my savior. He is not the man I thought he was."
The sentence falls short of the seven-year term prosecutors had requested but reflects what Judge Stein called her central role in the corruption scheme. Stein rejected Nadine Menendez's claims that she was an "innocent observer" in the bribery plot.
"You knew what you were doing. You were always purposeful," the judge told her during sentencing.
Prosecutors described Nadine Menendez as the "second-most culpable" member of the bribery plot, serving as a "go-between" who connected her husband with businessmen funneling bribes from Egyptian and Qatari governments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Pomerantz emphasized the gravity of her conduct during Thursday's proceedings.
"She played a critical role at the heart of a corrupt scheme to sell [Bob] Menendez's office. … She did so without hesitation and was motivated in part at least by greed," Pomerantz said in court.
Evidence presented during the trials revealed Nadine Menendez's central position in facilitating her husband's corrupt activities. As head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the anti-Türkiye senator used his authority to lobby colleagues to unfreeze $300 million in Egyptian military aid that had been held up due to human rights concerns.
The corruption scheme also involved Bob Menendez passing along secret information about employees at the U.S. Embassy through his wife, information that prosecutors said could have put those employees at risk. Evidence revealed Nadine Menendez's direct involvement in these communications with foreign officials.
"What else can the love of my life do for you?" Nadine told one Egyptian official while sitting alongside her cigar-puffing husband at a May 2019 dinner at Morton's Steakhouse, according to evidence presented at trial.
The couple's corruption involved accepting approximately $1 million in bribes, including gold bars worth around $150,000, nearly $500,000 in cash, and luxury vehicles. Former Garden State insurance broker Jose Uribe testified that he bribed Nadine with a new Mercedes-Benz C-300 in exchange for her husband's help shutting down a criminal probe.
Evidence showed Nadine Menendez met Uribe in the parking lot of a Jersey shopping mall where she collected $15,000 in cash, which she then used to make a down payment on the luxury car. After obtaining the vehicle, she texted her husband: "Congratulations mon amour de la vie, we are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes," using the French phrase for "love of my life" alongside a picture of the new car and a heart emoji.
Jurors also heard evidence that Nadine Menendez was paid by businessman Wael Hana for a no-show job. Hana's payoffs to the couple helped him obtain an exclusive Halal beef-exporting agreement with the Egyptian government.
Judge Stein granted leniency in part because of Nadine Menendez's battle with breast cancer and other mitigating factors. Her lawyers had requested a prison term of just one year and one day, claiming an extended sentence would "obliterate any possibility" of receiving necessary cancer treatment.
In an 11th-hour court filing Wednesday, Nadine Menendez's lawyers submitted a letter from her plastic surgeon explaining that she experienced complications with a prior surgery and would need additional procedures to "alleviate her debilitating and unremitting pain."
Stein ordered Nadine Menendez to surrender to prison on July 10, 2025, allowing her 10 months to undergo necessary medical procedures. The judge said his sentence was lenient because he took into account her health and other circumstances, including her childhood in war-torn Lebanon and history of abusive romantic partners.
Bob Menendez, 71, is currently serving an 11-year sentence at Pennsylvania's Allen Federal Correctional Institution after being convicted on all counts last year, including acting as an agent of the Egyptian government.
This made him the first public official ever convicted of acting as a foreign agent while in office.
The anti-Türkiye senator had been known for his opposition to arms sales to NATO ally Türkiye due to his ties to Greek and Armenian lobbies in the U.S. He was a leading opponent of the U.S. sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye and frequently criticized Türkiye's policies in the Mediterranean and Aegean regions.
During his own trial, Bob Menendez's attorneys at times sought to pin the blame on his wife, suggesting she hid her dealings with the other defendants from him. However, in a letter submitted before her sentencing, he attempted to walk back those claims, writing that it was "simply wrong" to suggest his wife was money hungry.
Despite her blistering courtroom attack on her husband of five years, Nadine Menendez told reporters outside the courthouse that she would remain married to him.
"I do not plan on divorcing him," she told reporters after the hearing.
She also asked for permission to visit her jailed husband at the Pennsylvania facility before reporting to prison herself next summer.
The case also resulted in prison sentences for two New Jersey businessmen who participated in the bribery scheme. Wael Hana and Fred Daibes were sentenced to eight years and seven years in prison, respectively. A third businessman, Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty before facing trial and cooperated with investigators.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton said in a statement Thursday that the Menendezes "engaged in the most brazen form of public corruption — gold bars, cash, and a luxury car in exchange for a Senator's power."
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