New York, United States — A judge sentenced a powerful former US senator to 11 years imprisonment Wednesday, after he was convicted of corruption following the discovery of gold bars and hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash at his home.

Robert Menendez, a 71-year-old Democrat from New Jersey, was convicted of extortion, obstruction of justice and accepting bribes to perform favors for businessmen with connections to Egypt and Qatar.

"Somewhere along the way... you lost your way," Judge Sidney Stein said in announcing the 11-year sentence. "Working for the public good became working for your good."

Menendez, who had served as chairman of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had vowed to appeal the verdict handed down in July 2024, and on Wednesday he asked for leniency from the judge ahead of his sentencing.

"I am going to ask you for mercy -- not for me, but for Anthony," a crying Menendez said, referring to his son who has autism, The New York Times reported.

Ahead of the sentencing, the court received letters from acquaintances of Menendez testifying to his character.

"Bob inspired many people, including me, with hope that it is possible to change the world," said one, from author Donald Scarinci.

The counts on which Menendez was convicted after less than three days of jury deliberations included conspiracy to commit bribery, acting as a foreign agent while a public official, and obstruction of justice.

'For my country'

Menendez said outside court following his conviction last year: "I have never been anything but a patriot of my country and for my country. I have never, ever been a foreign agent."

In a raid on Menendez's New Jersey home, FBI agents were said to have found nearly $500,000 in cash hidden around the house, as well as gold bars worth around $150,000 and a luxury Mercedes-Benz convertible.

His wife Nadine Menendez, to whom defense lawyers sought to shift the blame, was charged but faces trial separately as she receives treatment for breast cancer.

Menendez was convicted alongside two of the businessmen he helped -- Egyptian-American Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, a real estate developer. They were both sentenced to jail terms Wednesday.

A third businessman, insurance broker Jose Uribe, pleaded guilty to bribery charges in March and assisted investigators.

Menendez is said to have interfered in the nomination of New Jersey's prosecutor in a bid to ensure that proceedings were dropped against Daibes and Uribe.

He is also accused of accepting bribes to use his power and influence to enrich his co-conspirators and benefit the government of Egypt, including by helping Hana protect his monopoly on US exports of halal food products to the country.

(Source: Ana FERNÁNDEZ, AFP)