NEWARK -- A federal judge on Wednesday denied a motion by U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez's co-defendant to postpone a September trial in their corruption case.

U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-NJ (Julio Cortez | AP Photo, file)

Dr. Salomon Melgen was found guilty in a Florida federal court in April of pocketing more than $90 million in Medicare payments for medically unnecessary procedures.

Melgen, 62, of Palm Beach, Fla., is also accused in the New Jersey case of providing nearly $1 million in gifts and campaign contributions to the Democratic senator, which prosecutors said were bribes for the senator's intervention in government matters.

In a motion filed June 29, Melgen's defense team asked U.S. District Judge William H. Walls to delay the trial until October, arguing that Melgen's sentencing in the Medicare fraud case -- scheduled for Aug. 11 -- will be "heavily litigated."

Melgen faces an effective life prison sentence if no deal is reached with prosecutors.

"Given the close proximity between sentencing in that matter and

the trial here, Dr. Melgen's defense team will be forced to divide its time and attention between preparing for a complex sentencing hearing and preparing for trial," attorney Matthew Menchel wrote.

Walls denied the motion in one-paragraph decision issued Wednesday, ruling that the September trial date "has long been established."

"No good cause has been demonstrated by the movant," he wrote.

Menendez, who has pleaded not guilty and maintained his innocence, said in May that Melgen's conviction "had nothing to do with my case," but that he was saddened for the doctor and his family.

A spokesman for the senator was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

The senator and Melgen were first indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2015, and later charged under a superseding indictment filed in U.S. District Court in October.

Menendez is represented in the criminal case by a team of lawyers headed by Abbe David Lowell, who represented House Democrats during Bill Clinton's impeachment. Lowell was recently retained by Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and advisor, to represent him in an FBI probe of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

The trial is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. on Sept. 6. Attorneys are next scheduled to return to court Aug. 22, according to court filings.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.