Federal prosecutors want the wife of former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez to serve at least seven years in federal prison for her role in the wide-ranging "gold bar" bribery scheme.
In their court filing, prosecutors argued Nadine Menendez deserved significant prison time because she knowingly joined her husband in helping to orchestrate the illegal payoffs.
"The Government considers the defendant, who played a critical role at the heart of the scheme, to be the second most culpable member of the scheme second only to [Bob] Menendez", federal prosecutors wrote in their 58-page sentencing memorandum.
Federal prosecutors said Nadine Menendez's sentence should be about as long as sentences for the two businessmen who were convicted at trial for paying the bribes. Corrupt developer Fred Daibes was sentenced to seven years. Businessman Wael Hana was sentenced to eight years.
Prosecutors said Nadine Menendez helped to sell the power of then-Senator Menendez (D) in exchange for thousands of dollars worth of bribes, including cash, gold, bars, paychecks for a no-show job, and a Mercedes-Benz convertible.
"The defendant engaged, for years, in a corruption and foreign influence scheme of stunning brazenness, breadth, and duration, resulting in exceptionally grave abuses of power at the highest levels of the Legislative Branch of the United States Government," prosecutors said.
Lawyers for Nadine Menendez last week requested a sentence of a year and a day. Her husband of five years, Bob Menendez, wrote a letter to Judge Sidney Stein on her behalf. He wrote he regrets that his wife was painted as "money-hungry" during his separate bribery trial.
"I regret that I didn't fully preview what my Defense Attorney said about Nadine during my trial and in his summation. To suggest that Nadine was money hungry or in financial need, and therefore would solicit others for help, is simply wrong," he wrote.
Bob Menendez is currently serving an 11-year sentence at FCI Allentown in Pennsylvania.
Nadine Menendez is scheduled to be sentenced on September 11.