Associated Press

NEW YORK — 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 offic

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