(Bloomberg) – A judge who will decide the punishment for Bob Menendez must weigh the former senator’s half century of public service against calls by prosecutors to imprison him for 15 years after he was convicted of systematically exploiting his power for personal profit.
US District Judge Sidney Stein will sentence the New Jersey Democrat on Wednesday for bribery, extortion and acting as an agent of Egypt while he was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The two businessmen found guilty of giving Menendez gold bars, cash and a convertible received sentences of seven and eight years in prison at the hearing Wednesday.