Sentencing underway for wife of disgraced former Sen. Bob Menendez for her role in a bribery scheme

By MICHAEL R SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK AP The wife of former U S Sen Bob Menendez is being sentenced for her conviction for selling her husband s influence for bribes of cash and gold bars Nadine Menendez could get as little as a year in prison or multiple years behind bars after she was convicted of colluding with her husband the former Democratic chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a variety of corrupt schemes selected involving assisting the Egyptian executive Related Articles Do you live here states where you might outlive your retirement savings Trial starts for a man accused of attempting to assassinate Trump in Florida last year Wall Street rises toward more records on expectations for easier interest rates The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits last week hits most of in nearly years US inflation worsened last month as the cost of gas food and airfares jumped Soon after the hearing began Thursday Judge Sidney H Stein mentioned he planned to sentence her to a prison term substantially below the federal sentencing guideline range of roughly years The Probation Department had recommended an eight-year prison term Prosecutors say she played a large and crucial role in her husband s crimes serving as an intermediary between the senator and three New Jersey businessmen who literally lined his coat pockets with tens of thousands of dollars in cash in return for favors he could deliver with his political clout Prosecutors have requested that she spend at least seven years in prison Her lawyers have sought leniency saying she shouldn t spend more than a year in prison after a life of good deeds and current medical problems During a FBI raid on the couple s New Jersey home investigators unveiled in cash gold bars worth an estimated and a luxury convertible in the garage Bob Menendez is serving an -year sentence after his conviction last year on charges of taking bribes extortion and acting as an agent of the Egyptian leadership Prosecutors revealed that among his other corrupt acts the senator met with Egyptian intelligence agents and speeded that country s access to U S military aid as part of a complex effort to help his bribe-paying associates one of whom had business dealings with the Egyptian regime Nadine Menendez was tried separately because she was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly before she was to go to trial She was convicted in April