Bob Menendez, a former New Jersey senator, has been sentenced to serve a jail term.
The former senator was sentenced to 11 years in prison after being found guilty of bribery and corruption charges.
Last July, a jury convicted Bob Menendez on 16 counts for accepting bribes, including gold bars, cash, and a Mercedes-Benz, in exchange for assisting foreign governments.
While the trial lasted, prosecutors sought a minimum 15-year sentence, emphasizing the “rare gravity” of the former senator’s crimes in court documents.
But, the lawyers representing the 71-year-old Menendez, had instead advocated for a reduced sentence combined with community service.
CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, reports that before handing down Menendez’s sentence, US Judge Sidney Stein said: “Somewhere along the way, you became, I’m sorry to say, a corrupt politician.”
Menendez wept while addressing the courtroom before receiving his sentence.
According to court reporters, he said: “Other than family, I have lost everything I ever cared about. Every day I’m awake is a punishment.”
He then begged the judge “to temper your sword of justice with the mercy of a lifetime of duty”.
During the court proceedings, Menendez’s son, Democratic Congressman Rob Menendez, and his daughter, MSNBC anchor Alicia Menendez, sat in the courtroom behind their father.
Earlier on Wednesday, two of Menendez’s co-conspirators received their sentences.
Fred Daibes, a New Jersey real estate developer, who is accused of delivering gold and cash to the senator, was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $1.75 million (£1.4 million).
Wael Hana, an Egyptian-American businessman accused by prosecutors of facilitating a deal between Menendez and the Egyptian government, was sentenced to over eight years in prison and fined $1.25 million.
Menendez has consistently denied any wrongdoing and says he intends to appeal the guilty verdict.
The New Jersey senator, who was once the head of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, resigned from his position in the Senate in August.
Bob Menendez’s guilty verdict followed a nine-week trial, during which jurors were presented with evidence that the former senator accepted gifts, including gold bars valued at over $100,000 and more than $480,000 in cash, which FBI agents found at his home.
Prosecutors argued that Menendez exchanged these bribes for securing millions of dollars in U.S. aid for Egypt.
Menendez’s defense team contended that the gifts were not bribes, asserting that prosecutors had not demonstrated that Menendez took any actions in exchange for the gifts.
Bob Menendez was also found guilty of attempting to influence criminal investigations involving his two co-defendants, Hana and Daibes.
A third businessman linked to the case, Jose Uribe, has pleaded guilty and is scheduled for sentencing later this year. He provided testimony against Menendez during the trial.
Nadine Menendez, the ex-senator’s wife, is also accused of being involved in the scheme by delivering messages and bribes between the three men and Egyptian officials.
Her trial, which was postponed for breast cancer treatment, is set to begin in March. She has pleaded not guilty.
