Menendez Supporters Urge Judge to Be Lenient

Friends of Bob Menendez have written a letter to the sentencing judge requesting leniency be used when determining the former senator's punishment, The Hill reported on Thursday.

The letters were sent to U.S. District Court Judge Sidney Stein over the past month with the signatories stressing Menendez’s years of public service and work on behalf of the less fortunate.

In August, a federal jury in New York found Menendez guilty of 16 counts of conspiracy and bribery for using his office for personal financial gain which included receiving cash, gold bars, and a luxury car from three New Jersey businessmen.  

Robb Watters, founder of the lobbying firm Madison Group, said that he and Menendez have had "one of the truest friendships" he's encountered in the nation’s capital.

"My purpose in writing this letter and sharing my own experiences with Sen. Menendez is to ensure that the Court can truly see the man that he is, and fairly understand that justice would not be served by a lengthy sentence," Watters wrote in a Sept. 4 letter.

"I ask for mercy and understanding for a life that has been devoted to public service, as one who holds a close personal bond with the man, I hope you see."

Joan Dublin, president of the Metropolitan Family Health Network in Jersey City, N.J., cited the former senator’s "dedication to the underserved" in her Aug. 19 letter to the court.  Dublin added that she is "sure Bob Menendez regrets everything that he has done that led him to his current situation."

Menendez, who resigned last month, had been running as an independent candidate in the upcoming New Jersey Senate race against Democrat challenger Andy Kim and Republican Curtis Bashaw. He withdrew his bid for reelection in August.

Despite the outpouring of support from the private sector, not a single one of Menendez’s Democrat colleagues in the Senate have publicly voiced their support. The former senator faces a maximum of 222 years in prison yet is unlikely to receive the full punishment for each of his crimes. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 29.

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