U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein has handed a sobbing former Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat, 11 years in prison for convictions of bribery and corruption.

BREAKING: Ex-U.S. Senator Democrat Bob Menendez has been sentenced to 11 years in prison in bribery case pic.twitter.com/wRS1MFAxuZ

— WorldNetDaily (@worldnetdaily) January 29, 2025

Prosecutors had asked for a 15-year term for the 71-year-old, and his lawyers initially asked for a two-year sentence, revising their request to eight years after the judge sentenced co-conspirators to terms of that length.

#breaking: Bob Menendez now asking for EIGHT year sentence, up from the two years (or less) he asked for in writing – his lawyer Adam Fee says this is based on what happened this morning, 8 years on Daibes, 97 months on Hana. Inner City Press live tweeting below https://t.co/afqeWqUBAb

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) January 29, 2025

Menendez: We sat here for 9 weeks but you don’t know me. I am the son of Cuban refugees. I was elected to the school board at 20. Today I am 71. I testified and wore a bullet proof vest. I was the state’s first Hispanic mayor, then up to Senator.

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) January 29, 2025

Reports said Menendez was sobbing as he was sentenced.

Judge Stein: Almost half a million dollars in your house, cash stuffed in shoes, gold bars… Hubris, you’ll have to figure it out yourself. General deterrence is important. The sentence I intend to impose is 11 years

— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) January 29, 2025

A report at the Gateway Pundit noted Menendez resigned in August after Chuck Schumer, then the Senate majority leader, and other Democrats pressured him.

At the time, Menendez claimed he would be appealing his conviction “all the way and including to the Supreme Court.”

He also said he was “proud of the many accomplishments I’ve had on behalf of New Jersey, such as leading the federal effort for Superstorm Sandy recovery, preserving and funding Gateway and leading the federal efforts to help save our hospitals, State and municipalities, as well as New Jersey families through a once in a century COVID pandemic.”

He was accused in a superseding indictment of acting as a foreign agent, with allegations he gave “sensitive U.S. government” details to Egypt.

He and his wife also were accused of obstruction of justice.

Investigators found $500,000 in cash stuffed in envelopes and gold bars in the couple’s home.

“This case has always been about shocking levels of corruption, hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in the form of cash, gold bars, a Mercedes Benz. This wasn’t politics as usual, this was politics for profit. And now that a jury has convicted Bob Menendez, his years of selling his office to the highest bidder have finally come to an end,” Damian Williams, U.S. attorney, said earlier in the case.