Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez set to report to federal prison for 11-year bribery
sentence
[June 17, 2025]
By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER
NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is set to report to
federal prison on Tuesday to begin serving an 11-year sentence for
accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt. The
New Jersey Democrat has been mocked for the crimes as “Gold Bar Bob,"
according to his own lawyer.
Menendez's lawyers revealed in court papers last month that he is
expected to be housed at a facility in eastern Pennsylvania that has
both a medium-security prison and a minimum-security prison camp. Given
the white-collar nature of his crimes, it's likely he'll end up in the
camp.
The prison, the Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill, is about
118 miles (190 kilometers) west of New York City. It's home to about
1,200 inmates, including ex-New York City organized crime boss James
Coonan and former gas station owner Gurmeet Singh Dhinsa, whom the New
York Post dubbed “Gas-Station Gotti” for his ruthless, violent ways.
Menendez, 71, maintains his innocence. Last week, a federal appeals
court rejected his last-ditch effort to remain free on bail while he
fights to get his bribery conviction overturned. A three-judge panel on
the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied his bail motion.
Pleading for leniency, Menendez told a judge at his sentencing in
January: “I am far from a perfect man. I have made more than my share of
mistakes and bad decisions. I’ve done far more good than bad.”
Menendez has also appeared to be angling for a pardon from President
Donald Trump, aligning himself with the Republican’s criticisms of the
judicial system, particularly in New York City.
“This process is political and it’s corrupted to the core. I hope
President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the
system,” Menendez told reporters after his January sentencing.
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Former Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., speaks to reporters outside
federal court in New York, Jan. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Stefan Jeremiah,
File)
Menendez resigned last year after he was convicted of selling his clout
for bribes. FBI agents found $480,000 in cash in his home, some of it
stuffed inside boots and jacket pockets, along with gold bars worth an
estimated $150,000 and a luxury convertible in the garage.
In exchange, prosecutors said, Menendez performed corrupt favors for New
Jersey business owners, including protecting them from criminal
investigations, helping in business deals with foreign powers and
meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials before helping Egypt access
$300 million in U.S. military aid.
Menendez, who once served as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, resigned his seat a month after his conviction. He had been
in the Senate since 2006.
Two business owners also were convicted last year along with Menendez.
His wife, Nadine Menendez, was convicted in April of teaming up with her
husband to accept bribes from the business owners. Her sentencing has
been set for Sept. 11.
At his sentencing, Menendez’s lawyers described how the son of Cuban
immigrants emerged from poverty to become “the epitome of the American
Dream” — rising from mayor of Union City, New Jersey, to decades in
Congress — before his conviction “rendered him a national punchline.”
“Despite his decades of service, he is now known more widely as Gold Bar
Bob,” defense lawyer Adam Fee told the judge.
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