Ex-US senator Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years in prison for bribery

Former senator Bob Menendez was sentenced on Wednesday for accepting bribes (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP)

Former US senator Bob Menendez was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Wednesday for accepting bribes of cash and gold bars and serving as an agent of Egypt as he sold influence to businessmen eager to exploit his political power.

District judge Sidney H Stein in Manhattan announced the sentence after Menendez tearfully addressed the judge, saying he had lost everything he cared about, except for his wife.