Pro-Armenian US Sen. Menendez resigns, scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 29
Pro-Armenian US Senator Bob Menendez has resigned after bribery convictions.
Menendez, 70, was convicted of 16 federal corruption charges — including bribery, extortion, wire fraud, obstruction of justice and acting as a foreign agent., News.Az reports citing foreign media.
Prosecutors said he helped one bribe-paying friend get a multimillion-dollar deal with a Qatari investment fund and another keep a contract to provide religious certification for meat bound for Egypt.
He was also convicted of taking actions that benefited Egypt’s government in exchange for bribes, including providing details on personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo and ghostwriting a letter to fellow senators regarding lifting a hold on military aid to Egypt. FBI agents also said they found stacks of gold bars and $480,000 hidden in Menendez’s house.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 29. Menendez faces a maximum of 222 years in prison.
Menendez is the only U.S. senator indicted twice.
