By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Robert Menendez, the disgraced former U.S. senator from New Jersey, should spend at least 15 years in prison following his corruption conviction, after he betrayed voters by putting his office "up for sale" in exchange for bribes, U.S. prosecutors said.
The recommendation was filed on Thursday night in Manhattan federal court, a week after Menendez's lawyers pleaded for leniency, citing the 71-year-old's age, decades of public service, charitable works, devotion to family, and financial and professional ruin.
Probation officers recommended a 12-year prison term, which Menendez's lawyers described as an effective "death sentence."
Menendez, a Democrat who spent 18-1/2 years in the Senate and chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was convicted last July on all 16 counts he faced, including acting as an agent of a foreign government.
Prosecutors said Menendez accepted gold, cash, a Mercedes-Benz (OTC:MBGAF) and other rewards in exchange for political favors, including shepherding of military aid to Egypt and providing assistance to Qatar, as part of a bribery conspiracy.
In Thursday's filing, prosecutors also recommended that two New Jersey businessmen convicted with Menendez, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes, should spend at least 10 years and nine years in prison, respectively.
Motivated by "naked greed," the defendants engaged in crimes that were "an extraordinary attempt, at the highest levels of the legislative branch, to corrupt the nation's core sovereign powers over foreign relations and law enforcement," prosecutors said.
The defendants have requested short prison terms, none more than two years, or no time behind bars. They are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 29 in Manhattan federal court.
Menendez's wife, Nadine Menendez, is trying to postpone her Feb. 5 trial on related charges, citing potential negative publicity from her husband's sentencing.
SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT
In their sentencing recommendation, prosecutors said Menendez is the first senator convicted for abusing a Senate committee leadership position, and the first person convicted of serving as a foreign agent while being a public official.
Menendez was also accused of trying to disrupt criminal probes in New Jersey on behalf of Daibes and a one-time insurance broker, Jose Uribe. Uribe testified at trial for the government.
Prosecutors said Menendez committed crimes even after a Senate ethics committee admonished him for receiving gifts from a wealthy donor, Salomon Melgen, without required approval and disclosures.
The relationship between Menendez and Melgen underlay a 2017 corruption case against the senator, which ended in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked.
"Menendez's willingness to engage in the charged scheme immediately after receiving a formal admonition for such similar conduct speaks volumes about his character," prosecutors said.
In addition, prosecutors said arguments that Menendez has been punished enough reflect a "deeply misplaced sense of entitlement."
Robert Menendez has maintained his innocence and is expected to appeal his conviction.
The appeal may include an argument that jurors were improperly allowed during deliberations to review evidence that was not presented at trial.
Menendez's lawyers requested a prison term "substantially" below the 21 to 27 months they say are recommended under federal sentencing guidelines. Probation officers estimated the guidelines recommendation at 24-1/2 to 30-1/2 years.
Hana and Daibes have requested sentences of no more than one year and two years, respectively.
Lawyers for Menendez and Daibes did not immediately respond on Friday to requests for comment.
Hana's lawyer Lawrence Lustberg called a 10-year sentence for his client "inhumane and unjust." Nadine Menendez's lawyer Barry Coburn declined to comment.