Wife of pro-Armenian ex-Senator Menendez sentenced to 4.5 years for aiding her husband in corruption

A New York district judge has sentenced the Armenian-born wife of former US Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) to 4.5 years in prison for accepting bribes in cash, gold bars, and a Mercedes-Benz in exchange for helping her husband abuse his power as a lawmaker, Report informs via Bloomberg.   Nadine Menendez, 58, was found guilty by a federal jury in Manhattan in April on 15 counts for playing a critical role in a years-long bribery scheme with her husband, who was chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.   Prosecutors recommended that Ms. Menendez be sentenced to at least seven years in prison for her role in passing messages and bribes to her husband, as well as arranging meetings with Egyptian officials.   According to investigators, she was a key figure in a criminal conspiracy to receive a bribe. The former senator himself was also sentenced to 11 years in prison for the aforementioned acts, the sentence came into force on June 17 of this year.   Bob Menendez married Nadine Arslanian in 2020.  The wedding ceremony took place in an Armenian church in the Bayside area of ​​Queens. Arslanian is an Armenian of Lebanese descent. Under the influence of his second wife, Menendez conducted campaigns against Azerbaijan and Türkiye.