US Senator Bob Menendez Convicted of Corruption

Gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars were found in the possession of US Senator Bob Menendez, a bribe from Egypt and Qatar, a jury has now ruled. The Democrat now faces a lengthy prison sentence.

U.S. Senator Bob Menendez has been convicted of corruption. Twelve jurors in New York convicted the New Jersey Democrat on all 16 counts — including bribery and fraud — as U.S. media reported unanimously from the courtroom.

The verdict is scheduled to be announced on October 29. Menendez faces a lengthy prison sentence.

Bribes and luxury goods

According to the New York Times, the 70-year-old is the seventh senator in U.S. history to be convicted of a crime, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat, has called on him to resign.

The jury found that Menendez had used his political influence to benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar and accepted bribes and luxury goods in return. Investigators found about $500,000 (about €459,000) in cash, according to the prosecutor's office, hidden in envelopes and in his jackets. There was also talk of gold bars and a “luxury car.”

The senator pleaded not guilty.

Menendez pleaded not guilty. His wife, who is also accused, had her trial postponed because of cancer treatment.

Democrat Menendez has been a senator from New Jersey since 2006. He has already been investigated in the past, when the focus was on questionable business and luxury trips. But there has never been a conviction. Two businessmen who bribed Menendez and the politician were convicted. They did not deny the donations, but insisted they were either unsolicited gifts or loans.