Edward Mangano makes his case; federal judge makes him an example

Edward Mangano, and his wife, Linda, shared a defense table — for weeks at a time — during two trials in a 9th floor courtroom of the Alfonse M. D'Amato United States Courthouse in Central Islip.

But yesterday, Thursday, sentencing day, was different.

Mangano, once the highest elected official in Nassau County, walked into the courthouse early, waiting, with a few friends and family members, until 11:30 a.m.

That was when the proceeding that would determine his sentence on charges including conspiracy to commit federal program bribery and conspiracy to obstruct justice would begin.

A few hours later, Linda Mangano, backed by a coterie of supporters, would — separate and apart from her husband — do the same, as she waited to hear her sentence on federal charges of obstruction and lying to the FBI.

As he waited, Edward Mangano greeted friends in the hallway with handshakes and a few hugs.

Once inside, he took a spot at the defense table.

During the trials, he would take notes, and sometimes lean over to speak with his attorney, Kevin Keating.

On Thursday, there was little Mangano could do, other than listen.

He sat still as Keating rose and walked to a lectern to address U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack. 

Keating made his best pitch for leniency.

Then Mangano rose and strode to the lectern, gripping both sides.

And then, with a passion he had not exhibited during two federal trials, Mangano made his case to the judge.

"I'd first like the court to be lenient with Linda," Mangano said. "She is a good person. She is a good person."

"It is hard to be here," he continued.

Mangano talked about Republican politics in Nassau, and why prosecutors' assertions that he had influence on policy — such as pressing the Town of Oyster Bay to guarantee loans for his former friend, Harendra Singh — were wrong.

"The county executive does not have that type of influence. … It is not the political landscape," Mangano said.

"It is an ego-driven business, each person runs their own government, it is very territorial," he said.

It was somewhere along here that Mangano's attorney, Keating, stood and walked over to speak softly into Mangano's ear.

Keating would do so two more times as Mangano kept on speaking.

At one point, Mangano leaned an elbow onto the lectern as he told Azrack that his work as county executive was all-consuming. 

"I put in my entire person from the day I took office," he said. "I put my heart and soul in it. … There was not a week when I had time to think about Harendra Singh."

Mangano went on: "I do not have any criminal intent within my body."

And on: "I would not allow my office to be infiltrated by that."

And on: "They did a good job of blaming Ed."

He said he had suffered from depression, and at one point asked Azrack to allow him to continue to work so he could pay down his debts.

A few hours later, it was Linda Mangano's turn.

She addressed Azrack with emotion, hands shaking, her voice breaking as she cried — sometimes to the point where her words were hard to understand — as she read from a prepared text.

"I am a dedicated mom," she said, before explaining that she — like her husband — had asked the couple's two sons not to attend the sentencing.

"I can't bear the thought of this being engraved into their memory," she said.

She went on: "I accept the jury's verdict."

But, she said, "in my heart, I cannot agree with it."

Linda Mangano went on: "I am asking for your consideration today so that I can return to my life," noting the hundreds of supporters who had signed a petition asking Azrack to sentence her to community service.

At one point, Mangano noted that her friends kept her supplied with Coke Zero, her go-to refreshment, which she had brought to court every day during both trials.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Mirabile spoke for prosecutors during both sentencings Thursday, carefully rebutting the points made by both defendants and their attorneys.

Then Azrack took her turn.

The judge spared neither defendant in elaborating on why she had decided they would go to federal prison.

"Your crimes were motivated by greed," Azrack told Edward Mangano, who looked up toward the bench as she spoke. "You have shown no remorse for your actions in the slightest."

Azrack also was straightforward with Linda Mangano, saying she did not agree with Mangano or her lawyer that Nassau's former first lady had been ignorant of the criminal relationship between her husband and Singh.

On the contrary, Azrack went on, "It was going on under her nose, and in her bank account."

During both proceedings Thursday, Azrack — who also presided over the trials of former Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota and his chief deputy, Christopher McPartland, and the guilty plea by Mangano's former chief deputy Rob Walker — made multiple mentions of corruption.

She said the prison sentences were geared toward making elected officials and others, such as Linda Mangano, think twice about committing crimes or obstructing criminal investigations.

"In the end," Azrack said, "corruption will not pay."

By Joye Brown

joye.brown@newsday.com

Joye Brown has been a columnist for Newsday since 2006. She joined the newspaper in 1983 and has worked as a reporter, an editor, newsroom administrator and editorial writer.