Disgraced Senator Bob Menendez’s good friend and co-defendant, Dr. Salomon Melgen, was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for defrauding Medicare out of $73 million and subjecting elderly patients to unnecessary tests and treatments today.
Melgen and Menendez previously faced charges including bribery and conspiracy after the doctor presented Menendez with lavish gifts as the Senator interceded on his behalf in a federal investigation into his Medicare practices. That trial ended in a hung jury after Menendez contended that the luxury vacations and other gifts were simply the result of the friendship between the two men, and not an insidious bribery plot between a now convicted felon and a sitting United States Senator. While Menendez won’t face a second trial, his unethical-at-best behavior just won’t stay out of the news.
“Even after his trial ended in a hung jury, Bob Mendendez’s corruption continues to embarrass New Jersey,” said NRSC Spokesman Bob Salera. “Menendez’s unethical behavior will remain in the headlines throughout 2018, and will doom any chance of his reelection if he is shameless enough to put his name on the ballot.”