Judge weighs possible delay to Edward Mangano's surrender to prison

The date for former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano's surrender for his 12-year prison sentence could be put off a month to July as prosecutors and his attorney haggle about whether he should stay free on bail as he challenges his federal corruption conviction.

Federal prosecutors said in a letter Thursday to U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack that they wanted more time to oppose a motion for bail pending an appeal that Mangano’s attorney recently filed — a delay that would push back the defense’s reply to their paperwork.

“Given this briefing schedule, and the expectation that the Court will need time to review the briefs, the parties jointly ask the Court to delay the defendant’s surrender by 30 days until July 13, 2022,” the letter added.

The joint request, which Azrack will rule on, emerged as a lawyer for Mangano’s wife argued Thursday that she also should be free on bail while appealing her conviction.

Attorney John Carman cited a COVID-19 resurgence and also reasoned that without a bail continuance Linda Mangano would likely serve her 15-month prison sentence before her appeal could be decided.

“Linda’s motion for bail pending appeal rests on her unshakable belief in her innocence. She remains courageous in her commitment to reversing this appalling injustice,” he told Newsday.

Eastern District U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman John Marzulli declined to comment Thursday, as did attorney Kevin Keating, who represents Edward Mangano.

A jury in 2019 convicted Edward and Linda Mangano in connection with a bribery scheme involving politically connected restaurateur Harendra Singh, a longtime family friend.

 The panel found the former county executive guilty of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, federal program bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, honest services wire fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice.

Jurors found his wife guilty of conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and two counts of lying to the FBI. 

The Bethpage couple maintains their innocence.

Linda Mangano is slated to serve her incarceration in a minimum-security satellite camp at a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, according to Carman.

She is free on $500,000 bond and scheduled to surrender to prison officials before 2 p.m. on June 27.

Carman wrote in Thursday’s motion that his client is neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community as someone who “has participated extensively in civil life, public service, and charitable activities.”

He also said in the court paperwork it was “absurd to imagine” Linda Mangano would abscond, given her community connections, record of court attendance and because she would "spend considerably less than a year in actual prison” for the 15-month sentence.

Carman cited a “statutory 15% good-time reduction as well as up to six months of halfway house time,” while explaining his argument.

The defense attorney said further that Linda Mangano, 59, didn’t flee before sentencing when she had faced the possibility of 24 to 30 months in prison under federal guidelines and wouldn’t now.

 “She is not going to become a fugitive and give up her entire life in Nassau County to avoid that,” he added of his client's actual sentence.

 If Azrack rules against the defendants’ bail motions, they could appeal to a higher court. 

By its verdict, the jury found Edward Mangano, 60, used his influence as the new county executive to sway Town of Oyster Bay officials into indirectly backing $20 million in loans for Singh after an outside lawyer for the town said such a transaction was illegal.

Singh, the government’s star witness, testified he bribed Edward Mangano with a $454,000 “no-show” job for Linda in his restaurant empire, free meals and vacations, two luxury chairs, hardwood flooring for the couple’s bedroom and a $7,300 wristwatch for one of their sons.

The jury also found the Manganos conspired to obstruct a grand jury probe by scheming with Singh to fabricate examples of work Linda never did, before she lied to federal officials about the work she claimed to have performed.

Thursday’s filing in Linda Mangano’s case also laid out the framework for her appeal, saying the defense would present several substantial legal questions likely to result in a reversal or a new trial.

Among them, Carman cited a lack of sufficient proof to convict her of two counts of lying to the FBI “because neither her exact statements nor the questions she answered were in evidence.”

He also said the jury should have heard Catherine Mirabile and Lara Treinis Gatz, two of the prosecutors who tried the case, were present during interviews with Linda Mangano and “made sure that her exact words were not recorded.”

Prosecutors previously have argued that the defense also didn’t record the sessions while accompanying Linda Mangano at two of three meetings.

 Thursday’s filing shows the appeal also will challenge her false statements convictions by claiming there was no way to tell if jurors agreed on whether Linda Mangano told a particular lie “or whether they improperly convicted her based on different findings as to different statements.”

The paperwork also shows the appeal will question if there was sufficient evidence to convict her of conspiracy to obstruct justice and argue she shouldn’t have gotten a sentence enhancement for “substantial interference with the administration of justice.”