Judge orders resentencing of former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano to be delayed until September

Ex-Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano's resentencing on corruption charges after an appeals court threw out part of his conviction has been rescheduled, a federal judge ordered Friday.

Mangano, 64, who is serving a 12-year sentence at Federal Medical Center Devens in Massachusetts, was scheduled to be resentenced Tuesday. But U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack said the proceeding is being rescheduled "because certain counsel was not available to appear in person."

Azrack set a new date of Sept. 15. Mangano will appear via Zoom because his lawyer previously requested that he be permitted to attend the hearing remotely.

Mangano's current release date is Dec. 4, 2031, according to a federal inmate database. He was convicted of using his status as county executive to pressure the Town of Oyster Bay to indirectly back loans for a town concessionaire who was Mangano's friend.

He is being resentenced after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned two bribery charges he was convicted of, ruling that Mangano, as county executive, was not an "agent" of Oyster Bay Town, an element required for a conviction on those charges. The court upheld Mangano's conviction on the remaining charges.

Mangano, a Republican who served two terms as county executive of one of New York State’s most populous suburban counties, has recently been working as a head chef and raising a future service dog while serving his prison term.

Azrack has postponed Mangano’s resentencing on several occasions, including earlier this year to allow more time for a defense review of the federal probation department’s resentencing report, Newsday previously reported. The judge also approved previously Mangano’s request to appear remotely for his resentencing, after his lawyers argued that Mangano could potentially be forced to spend months in the infamous Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, a federal jail, if he had to be transported to New York to attend his court hearing.

Mangano was convicted on March 8, 2019, of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, honest services wire fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice for the loan scheme.

The former county executive took several bribes from family friend, restaurant mogul and Town of Oyster Bay concessionaire Harendra Singh in exchange for helping him to secure the indirect loan guarantees, including a $454,000 "no-show" job for his wife, Linda Mangano, free meals and vacations, two luxury chairs, hardwood flooring for the couple's bedroom and a $7,300 wristwatch for one of their sons, prosecutors have said.

Linda Mangano served about 5 months of a 15-month sentence for lying to the FBI and conspiring to commit obstruction of justice.

Federal prosecutors are still seeking his original 12-year sentence. But his defense team is seeking a sentence reduction, arguing he should be resentenced to five years.

Mangano’s immediately family — his wife and two adult sons, Sal and Alex — as well as his parents, Rachel Mangano, 88, and John Mangano, 90, each wrote to the judge asking her to consider Mangano’s good behavior in prison when she resentences him.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.