Prosecutors: Sen. Menendez ‘sold his office’ for ritzy trips

By DAVID PORTER
NEWARK, N.J. — U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez “sold his office for a lifestyle he couldn’t afford” by accepting luxury trips from a wealthy doctor seeking political influence in return, a government prosecutor told jurors Wednesday during opening statements of the Democrat’s corruption trial.
Menendez’s attorney responded in his opening statement that gifts from Florida ophthalmologist Salomon Melgen, Menendez’s longtime friend, didn’t equa