Nadine Menendez, the wife of disgraced former Democratic New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in prison for playing an intermediary role in her husband’s foreign bribery scheme involving the Egyptian and Qatari governments.
She will serve the prison sentence in addition to three years of supervised release. Federal prosecutors sought seven years behind bars for her, while the defense asked for only one year.
U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein issued the 4 1/2-year sentence due to Menendez’s battle with breast cancer and various other factors. After undergoing surgery for her health condition, she will report to prison on July 10, 2026.
During the sentencing hearing in a Manhattan federal court, Menendez blamed her husband for involving her in the bribery scheme without taking responsibility.
“I put my life in his hands and he strung me like a puppet,” she said of her husband, who was previously sentenced to 11 years in prison. “The blindfold is off. I now know he’s not my savior. He’s not the man I thought he was.”
Despite the condemnatory statements about her husband, Menendez said she does not plan to file for divorce.
Stein did not buy her claims about being a victim.
“You knew what you were doing. Your role was purposeful,” he said.
Prosecutors argued Menendez acted as an intermediary between her husband and three New Jersey businessmen who bribed the couple with hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for his political influence. The former senator, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the time, was accused of acting as a foreign agent.
In 2022, federal investigators uncovered $480,000 in cash, $150,000 worth of gold bars, and a luxury car at the defendants’ Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, home.
LAWYERS SEEK LENGTHY PRISON SENTENCE FOR BOB MENENDEZ’S WIFE’S ROLE IN BRIBERY PLOTS
Menendez was tried separately from her husband because of her breast cancer diagnosis before last year’s trial.
After the sentencing, Menendez’s lawyer said she plans to appeal.