Former U.S. senator's wife sentenced to 4.5 years in prison for bribery

NEW YORK, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Nadine Menendez, wife of former U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, was sentenced on Thursday to four and a half years in prison for her involvement in an international corruption scheme, noted U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York.

Nadine Menendez was convicted in April of accepting bribes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for her husband, former Senator Bob Menendez, using his political influence to benefit Egyptian officials and New Jersey businessmen. She was found guilty on all 15 counts, including bribery and fraud, it added.

Bob Menendez, who served as a U.S. Senator from New Jersey for 18 and a half years and chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is now serving an 11-year prison sentence for taking bribes, extortion and acting as an agent of the Egyptian government. ■