NEW YORK— Former New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez will be sentenced on corruption charges at the end of January, while his wife’s trial will be rescheduled from January to February, a judge announced Monday.
U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein in Manhattan denied Menendez’s request to postpone his sentencing for bribery and other crimes until his wife’s trial on similar charges, which is expected to conclude in March.
The Democrat’s attorneys last week requested a fresh sentencing date, claiming that the jury chosen to hear the case against his wife, Nadine Menendez, would be contaminated if they learned the outcome of the former senator’s punishment during the trial.
Menendez, 70, was convicted in July on 16 corruption charges brought by prosecutors who claimed he used his Senate power over a five-year period ending in 2022 to do favors for three New Jersey businessmen who paid him with gold bars, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, and a Mercedes-Benz convertible.
Two of the businessmen were convicted alongside Menendez, while a third admitted guilt, cooperated with the government, and testified against him.
Nadine Menendez has pled not guilty to the accusations. Her trial with her spouse was originally scheduled to take place, but it was postponed due to a breast cancer diagnosis, which required surgery. Stein’s trial was rescheduled for Monday, January 21, until February 5. Her husband is set to be sentenced on January 29.