In papers filed late Thursday in Manhattan federal court, prosecutors called for the lengthy prison term for the 71-year-old Menendez when he is sentenced on Jan. 29.

Prison for Disgraced Former NJ Senator Menendez 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,

Prosecutors say former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez should be imprisoned for 15 years after the Democrat became the first to be convicted of abusing a Senate committee leadership position and the first public official to be convicted of serving as a foreign agent.

Lawyers for New Jersey’s former Democratic senator, Robert Menendez, have said that even fewer years would be tantamount to a death sentence.

Former US Senator Bob Menendez, the once-powerful New Jersey Democrat convicted of corruption charges, should spend 15 years in prison, US prosecutors said.