A bid for bail by former New Jersey US Sen. Menendez is rejected by appeals court as prison looms

NEW YORK (AP) — A bid for bail by former U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez while he appeals his bribery conviction was rejected Wednesday by a federal appeals court, a week before the veteran New Jersey politician is scheduled to report to prison.

Menendez, 71, was convicted last July of selling his clout for bribes. FBI agents who searched his home three years ago found $480,000, some of it stuffed inside boots and jacket pockets, gold bars worth an estimated $150,000 and a luxury convertible in the garage.

Prosecutors said that in exchange, Menendez performed corrupt favors for the New Jersey business owners. They said he tried to protect the men and associates from criminal investigations, helped two in business deals with foreign powers and met with Egyptian intelligence officials before helping that country access $300 million in U.S. military aid.

Menendez, a Democrat, has insisted that he is innocent and is seeking to overturn his conviction. He is scheduled to surrender to federal prison authorities on Tuesday.

A three-judge panel on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied his bail motion in a brief order issued Wednesday. The decision did not include a rationale, but it said one of the three judges would have granted the motion.

An email seeking comment was sent to his attorneys.

Menendez, who once served as chair of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, resigned his seat a month after his conviction. He had been in the Senate since 2006.

Two business owners also were convicted last year along with Menendez.

His wife, Nadine Menendez, was convicted in April of teaming up with her husband to accept bribes from the business owners. Her trial was delayed after she was diagnosed with breast cancer and required surgery. Her sentencing has been set for Sept. 11.