Robert Menendez, a prominent New Jersey senator, ended his five-decade political career with a federal prison sentence following a corruption trial. While he was noted for significant contributions like rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy and establishing a Latino history museum, his legacy is now eclipsed by the details of his conviction for bribery. The trial featured gold bars found at his home and an unsuccessful defense strategy that portrayed him as deceived by his wife, emphasizing the tawdry aspects of his demise, marking a stark contrast to his former political stature.
More than any other details of his sweeping international bribery case, gold bars and blaming his wife have come to stand for the improbable mash-up of gravity and tawdriness in Menendez's legacy.
Jurors weighed gold bars recovered from Mr. Menendez's home before they found the Democratic senator guilty of selling his high office to foreign powers and crooked businessmen.
At a time when our expectations continue to get lower for people in public life, Menendez will be remembered for lowering those standards even further, according to former Gov. Chris Christie.
His lawyers unsuccessfully tried to explain how a senior statesman had been duped by his real New Jersey housewife, describing intimate details of a senatorial marriage.
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