US Sen Bob Menendez found guilty on federal corruption charges

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - A federal jury in New York found Sen. Bob Menendez guilty on Tuesday of accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes and acting as an unregistered foreign agent.

The jury reportedly deliberated for three days following the senior senator's nine-week trial, ultimately finding him guilty on all 16 charges against him.

Prosecutors alleged that Menendez accepted bribes from a trio of New Jersey businessmen that included gold bars, a luxury car and more than $480,000 in cash. The payments were made in exchange for Menendez carrying out a series of favors that included shielding individuals from prosecution and illicitly using his office to benefit the Egyptian government.

Menendez's wife, Nadine Arslanian, was charged with crimes in a separate case, but her trial has been indefinitely delayed to allow her to recover from breast cancer surgery.