Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez was sentenced Wednesday to 11 years in prison for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt — crimes his lawyer said he’s been mocked for as “Gold Bar Bob.

Mr. Menendez, a powerful longtime senator from New Jersey, was convicted last year on federal bribery and corruption charges.

Disgraced former Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) was sentenced to 11 years in prison on Wednesday. Prosecutors had sought 15 years behind bars for Menendez, 71, who was convicted on more than a dozen political corruption charges last summer after a jury found he accepted bribes to perform professional favors for businessmen with ties to Egypt and Qatar.