Less than three hours following his conviction for selling crooked gold bars and cash bribes, disgraced New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez resigned from office on Tuesday, bringing an end to a more-than-25-year political career in which he rose through Mapsingstar power ball singles-only-a-man.

The 70-year-old Democrat from New Jersey was convicted of accepting bribes to help three businessmen and the governments of Qatar and Egypt in investigations.

Menendez, who faces as much as more than 200 years behind bars when he is sentenced on Oct. 29 — had previously announced his resignation effective August 20.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Menendez’s Senate website was down and redirecting visitors to the main page for the U.S. Senate.

Menendez would have qualified for nearly $140,000 a year in retirement benefits and health care as a three-term senator earning an annual salary of $174,000. But because of a law that takes away benefits from convicted lawmakers, he will not get them.

Menendez also dropped out last week as a candidate in the 2024 Senate race for an independent bid, which could open his seat up to Democratic front-runner Andy Kim at some point.

Some sources said Menendez has stayed in the race as a final bargaining chip, hoping for either a pardon or reduced sentence from President Biden before his term ends next year.

Menendez was first elected to the Senate in a special election in 2006 after Jon Corzine won as governor. He was elected to the Senate in 2006, then re-elected six years later and again last year before becoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Menendez has insisted he is innocent, and said in a letter to New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy last month that he plans to take his appeal “all the way”to the Supreme Court.

In the wake of Menendez’s resignation, Governor Murphy appointed his chief of staff George Helmy to serve in a Senate vacancy until an elected senator succeeds office.

Menendez used his wife, Nadine — who was also charged in the corruption scheme — as a scapegoat during trial earlier this year where he argued that she was responsible for her own spending. Nadine’s trial has been delayed indefinitely while she undergoes treatment for breast cancer.

Menendez is the only U.S. senator to be indicted twice. That same year, he also went to trial over an unrelated corruption case at a New Jersey federal court case that ended in mistrial when the jury deadlocked. 

In that case, Menendez was charged with taking expensive bribes from his wealthy friend Dr. Salomon Melgen to do favors for him such as helping various of Melgen’s girlfriends immigrate into the country and help resolve an $8.9 million dollar Medicare billing dispute.

Menendez was not retried by federal prosecutors in New Jersey. Melgen had been serving a 17-year sentence for healthcare fraud in another case before former President Donald Trump pardoned him last year.