Sen. Bob Mendendes says he wants Trump to “clean Sespool and restore integrity to the system” as he fishes for pardon for an 11-year sentence.
New York (AP) – Former US Senator Bob Menendez He arrived at federal prison on Tuesday, accepting gold and cash bribes and began sentencering 11 years to act as an Egyptian agent. According to his own lawyer, New Jersey Democrats are being laughed out for crimes as “Gold Bar Bob.”
The Federal Prisons Bureau confirmed that Menendez is in custody at a federal correctional facility in Schilkill, Minersville, Pennsylvania. The facility includes a medium security prison and a minimum security prison camp. Given the white-collar nature of his crime, he could go camping.
The prison is approximately 118 miles (190 kilometers) west of New York City. It is home to around 1,200 prisoners, including former New York City organized crime boss James Coonan and former gas station owner Garmeet Singh Dinsa. It is called “Gas Station Gotti” For his ruthless and violent ways.
Menendez, 71, maintains his innocence. Last week, a federal appeals court rejected his final ditch effort to maintain bail while he fought to overturn his bribery conviction. A three-judge panel in the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied his bail motion.
Menendez advocated for leniency, telling the judge in his January ruling:
Menendez also appears to be fishing for a pardon from President Donald Trump, consistent with Republican criticism of the justice system, particularly in New York City.
“The process is political and corrupt to the heart. I hope President Trump will clean up Sesspool and restore the integrity of the system,” Menendez told reporters after the January ruling.
Tuesday’s post on social platforms x It was later removed, and Menendez criticized prosecutors for politically motivating them, opposing his views on foreign policy, and praised Trump for “the rise in law.”
Menendez resigned last year He was found guilty of selling his influence for bribery. An FBI agent found $480,000 in cash at home. Some of them were packed into the pockets of boots and jackets, with gold bars worth an estimated $150,000 and a gorgeous convertible in the garage.
Menendez carried out corrupt benefits to New Jersey business owners, protecting them from criminal investigations, supporting business transactions with foreign powers, and meetings with Egyptian intelligence officers, helping Egypt access $300 million with US military aid, prosecutors said.
Menendez, who once chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, resigned a month after his conviction. He has been in the Senate since 2006.
Two business owners were also convicted last year along with Menendez.
His wife, Nadine Menendezin April, she was found guilty of working with her husband to accept bribery from a business owner. Her sentence is scheduled for September 11th.
In his ruling, Menendez’s lawyer explained how the son of Cuban immigrants emerged from poverty to become the “micron of America’s dream.” He rose from Mayor of Union City in New Jersey to the Council decades.
“Despite his decades of service, he is now more widely known as Goldberbob,” defense attorney Adam Fee told the judge.