Linda Mangano will surrender to prison Friday if federal appellate judges don't rule in her favor

Former Nassau County first lady Linda Mangano will surrender to start her prison term Friday if a panel of Manhattan federal appellate judges who heard arguments Tuesday about her bid to stay free on bail while appealing her conviction don’t rule quickly in her favor.

Three judges from the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals heard about five minutes of arguments from both the defense and prosecution on Tuesday morning.

Mangano, 59, is due to serve a 15-month sentence in a minimum-security satellite camp at a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut. She didn’t attend Tuesday’s court proceeding.

“It would be very unfair for her to have to surrender this Friday and lose her full appellate rights since her appeal will not be fully adjudicated before the completion of her 15-month sentence and we think that is inherently unfair and unjust,” Mangano’s appeals attorney, Bradley Simon, told Newsday outside the courthouse.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Mirabile told the three-judge panel on Tuesday that Linda Mangano’s bail motion “should be denied in its entirety.”

Prosecutors declined to comment after court.

A jury in 2019 convicted Linda Mangano and her husband, former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, in a bribery case tied to politically connected ex-restaurateur Harendra Singh — a longtime family friend.

The Eastern District U.S. Attorney’s Office also opposed Linda Mangano’s first bail motion, which U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack ruled against in July before Mangano took her case to the Second Circuit.

Azrack said when denying Linda Mangano’s bail motion that the defense claim that the defendant likely would serve her entire sentence before her appeal was settled was “not a relevant factor” in deciding such a motion.

Azrack also previously ruled against Edward Mangano’s initial bail motion, a matter which he has appealed to the Second Circuit. The court has granted a stay of his 12-year prison term until the judges rule on his pending motion.

Federal prosecutors wrote in court paperwork while opposing Linda Mangano’s latest bail motion that her arguments were “meritless.”

One of the questions the defense has raised is whether sufficient evidence supported her convictions for making false statements to the government when the government couldn't produce an exact record of her words — an issue Simon said the Second Circuit never has ruled on.

The appellate judges, Eunice C. Lee, Jon O. Newman and John M. Walker Jr., peppered Simon with questions Tuesday, a number related to that defense point.

One inquiry was whether the defense put up a witness during the Manganos' trial to counter an FBI agent's testimony about the questions Linda Mangano was asked and the answers she gave during interviews with federal officials.

Simon relayed that Linda Mangano's trial attorney — John Carman — didn't offer such a witness and also confirmed after another question from the judges that Carman was present during the unrecorded interviews.

The panel also questioned whether Simon had pressed for an expedited appeal of Linda Mangano's conviction, something Simon told the panel he would do if they ruled against her on the bail motion.

One of the judges asked Mirabile if the fact that a transcript of Linda Mangano's statements to the government didn't exist raised a substantial question of law or fact.

Such questions, which are likely to result in a reversal of a conviction or a new trial, form part of the basis for granting bail while an appeal is pending.

Mirabile told the judges there was "overwhelming evidence" presented to jurors that Linda Mangano lied during the proffers and that by their verdict they had rejected the argument that there needed to be a verbatim transcript.

The jury acquitted Linda Mangano of one count of lying to the FBI, while convicting her of two counts of the same charge, along with conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice.

Jurors convicted Edward Mangano 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. They acquitted him of extortion and another wire fraud count.

The jury found Edward Mangano used his influence as Nassau's new county executive to sway Town of Oyster Bay officials into indirectly backing $20 million in loans for Singh, a town concessionaire, which an outside lawyer for the town said was illegal.

Singh testified that he bribed the Republican leader with a $454,000 “no-show” job for Linda Mangano in his now-defunct restaurant business, along with items that included free meals and vacations, furniture and wood flooring.

The Manganos, who insist on their innocence, say the perks Singh provided were gifts from a friend. He testified under a cooperation agreement with the government as the key witness against the couple. The Manganos' lawyers portrayed Singh in court as a liar and perjurer.