Wife of disgraced senator Bob Menendez is found guilty of taking bribes and faces decades behind bars

Nadine Menendez, the wife of former New Jersey senator Bob Menendez, was found guilty, on Monday, for playing a central role in a years-long bribery scheme alongside her husband and two other co-defendants.

After two days of deliberations, a jury of 12 New Yorkers found Menendez guilty on all 15 counts, including bribery, obstruction of justice, wire fraud and conspiring to make her husband act as a foreign agent.

Prosecutors argued Menendez, 58, offered up her husband’s political influence in exchange for cash, jewelry, gold bars and a Mercedes-Benz convertible from three New Jersey businessmen. They said she served as a central figure in the scheme, communicating between all parties.

Menendez’s husband had used a similar argument during his trial last year. His attorneys blamed much of the bribery scheme of his wife. Ultimately he too was found guilty on all changes for accepted bribes from three New Jersey businessmen who sought his help in meddling in state and federal criminal investigations and securing lucrative deals with officials from Egypt and Qatar.

The conviction means Menendez will join her husband and “partner in crime” in serving jail time for the scheme.

Several of the charges against her carry a maximum jail sentence of 20 years.

"Nadine Menendez and Senator Menendez were partners in crime," acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said in a statement after the verdict. "Together, Nadine Menendez and the Senator placed their own interests and greed ahead of the interests of the citizens the Senator was elected to serve."

Menendez was indicted alongside her husband and New Jersey businessmen in 2023. She was meant to be tried alongside her husband for her alleged role in the scheme but the judge split the Menendez’s trials after Menendez revealed she needed breast cancer treatment.

Bob Menendez had used his wife a scapegoat during his trial, claiming his wife harbored many of the bribes in her personal locked closet and did not inform him of them.

But after being convicted in the scheme, the senator has advocated for his wife on social media – imploring President Donald Trump to help end the prosecution.

“My wife, who had breast cancer reconstructive surgery just days ago, is being forced by the government to go to trial tomorrow. Only the arrogance of the SDNY can be so cruel and inhumane. They should let her fully recover!” Menendez wrote in an X post address to Trump.

Judge Sidney Stein of the Southern District of New York set her sentencing date for June 12. It will occur the same month her husband is to report to prison to begin his 11-year sentence.