Nadine Menendez, former senator’s wife, gets 4.5 years in prison for gold bar bribery case
A judge sentenced former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez’s wife, Nadine Menendez, to 54 months in prison. It’s the latest in the saga involving Egyptian officials, a former United States senator, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, gold bars and political favors.
Nadine Menendez will report to prison in July 2026, as the judge granted her more time due to her battle with breast cancer. Along with the prison sentence, Nadine Menendez was sentenced to three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered her to forfeit more than $922,000.
“The defendant and her partner in crime, former Sen. Robert Menendez, engaged in the most brazen form of public corruption — gold bars, cash and a luxury car in exchange for a Senator’s power,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Today’s sentence sends an important message: our elected officials are not for sale.”
The federal bribery case made headlines in 2022 when the FBI raided the Menendez’s split-level home in the New Jersey Palisades, where federal authorities discovered cash stashed in envelopes and in clothes, as well as $100,000 worth of gold bars. One of the alleged bribes was a Mercedes-Benz and a job that required little to no effort.
Corruption convictions
Both the husband and wife were found guilty in the bribery scheme, where prosecutors allege they acted in the interests of Egypt. They claim the couple leveraged Bob Menendez’s powerful position as the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to influence U.S. foreign policy on behalf of Egypt, essentially working as foreign agents.
The Manhattan jury found Bob Menendez guilty of 16 crimes, including bribery, extortion, honest services fraud, obstruction of justice and conspiracy. He received an 11-year sentence and is currently serving time at a minimum-security prison in Allenwood, Pennsylvania.
On April 15, jurors found Nadine Menendez guilty after the Feds called her the “linchpin” of the corruption scheme. Nadine Menendez received her sentence on Thursday after being found guilty on separate corruption charges from her husband. Prosecutors say Nadine Menendez, 58, connected her now-husband Bob Menendez with businessmen who would then distribute bribes from the Egyptian and Qatari governments to them.
Wife blames husband
In the Manhattan courtroom on Thursday, Nadine Menendez blamed her husband.
“I put my life in his hands, and he strung me like a puppet,” she cried to the Manhattan federal judge. “The blindfold is off. I now know he is not my savior. He is not the man I thought he was.”
Though prosecutors advocated for Nadine Menendez to serve seven years in prison, the judge gave her 58 months, under five years, citing her struggle with breast cancer and pain from treatments in justifying less time in prison.
Others were also prosecuted for their roles in the corruption scheme, including New Jersey property developer Fred Daibes, Egypt-born businessman Wael Hana, and insurance broker Jose Uribe.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
