Long Island

Nassau

Nicole Fuller

Ex-Nassau County first lady Linda Mangano should serve 2 1/2 years in federal prison for lying to federal authorities about her $454,000 "no-show" job that served as a corrupt bribe to her husband Edward Mangano, the former Nassau County executive, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. 
Mangano, 58, was found guilty at the Bethpage couple's 2019 retrial on charges that included lying to the FBI about the job as a food taster and menu planner that prosecutors said restaurateur Harendra Singh gave her as one of several bribes to Edward Mangano. 
"If the $450,000 was simply Singh demonstrating his love and generosity to his longtime friends, the defendant would have told the FBI just that in the first interview, the second interview or in the last interview because, as defense counsel noted during the trial, standing alone, there is nothing illegal about accepting a no show job," prosecutors Catherine Mirabile, Christopher Caffarone and Lara Treinis Gatz said in their sentencing recommendation memorandum. "But that is not what she did. Instead, she went through great lengths to come up with work that she supposedly did to justify the salary. The lies she told were driven by an unpure motive: to conceal the bribes, keep her husband in power, and impede the grand jury’s investigation." 
Linda Mangano's attorney John Carman, of Garden City, said in an email: "The government’s recommendation of thirty months in federal prison is difficult to understand given Linda’s perfect life history and years of community service. Linda was prosecuted, not because she lied, but because she was asked 900 questions and then the government spent months and millions of dollars attempting to disprove twelve of her answers." 
Carman argued in his own filing last month that his client should receive community service because she "has lived in service to others" and "was swept up in something far bigger than she was." 
She was facing 24 to 36 months under sentencing guidelines. Probation recommended she serve 18 months. 
Prosecutors recommended last week that Edward Mangano serve 17 1/2 years in prison. The Manganos are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Joan M. Azrack on April 14. 
He was also found 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. 
The jury found he took several bribes from Singh while serving as county executive, including five vacations, free meals, two luxury chairs, hardwood flooring for the Manganos' bedroom and a $7,300 watch that was presented to one of their sons as a birthday gift from his parents. 
In exchange, according to prosecutors, Mangano took official action in persuading Town of Oyster Bay officials to back $20 million in indirect loan guarantees for Singh, a longtime concessionaire with the town. 
Defense attorneys for the Manganos argue the couple is innocent and Edward Mangano never took any official government action for Singh, a longtime family friend who showered them with gifts because he was generous -- not as bribes. 
The couple's first trial ended in a mistrial. Co-defendant John Venditto, the former Oyster Bay town supervisor, who has since died, was acquitted on all charges. 
The government spent "substantial" resources because of Linda Mangano's lies, prosecutors said, and her sentence should serve as a deterrent to others in public life. 
"Here, to prove the defendant’s deceit and blatant lies, the government was compelled to interview countless witnesses and review, conservatively estimating, hundreds of thousands of pages of documents. The cost to the government and the public was substantial because those valuable and limited federal law enforcement resources could have been directed to investigate and prosecute other serious crimes that plague our Long Island communities, such as fraud on the elderly, gang violence or opioid overdose deaths," the government said. 
Prosecutors said Linda Mangano, three years after the trial, still "refuses to accept any responsibility for her crimes and shows an utter lack of remorse." 
Prosecutors said it is "reasonable to infer that the defendant was well aware of the criminal relationship between her husband and Singh, and that she willingly participated in order to enrich herself and her family." 
Prosecutors also rejected her attorney's arguments about her prior good works in the community. 
"Indeed, the defendant’s status as the first lady of Nassau County and her service to her husband’s constituents renders her criminal conduct all the more egregious," they said.

Crime

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Feds: Linda Mangano should serve 2 1/2 years in prison for corruption

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Former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano should spend 17 1/2 years in federal prison because he "sold the power and influence of his office" in "a stunning abuse of power" by accepting bribes, federal prosecutors said Thursday. 
Mangano was "motivated by greed and a sense of entitlement," said federal prosecutors. The former top county official is "unrepentant and shamelessly blames everyone else but himself for his crimes," they said, "His lack of remorse warrants a stiff sentence." 
Besides serving the prison sentence for taking bribes to influence Oyster Bay town to indirectly guarantee $20 million in loans to a restaurateur, he should pay restitution "in the full amount of the victim's losses," prosecutors said. 
That includes over $11 million to Phoenix Life Insurance Company, the company that repaid the defaulted loans and $4 million for the town's legal fees, prosecutors said. 
The government, in its 25-page memorandum, also asked the court to issue a forfeiture order in the amount of $527,606.95 — the amount of the bribes Mangano received in the form of his wife Linda's "sham" no-show job and beach vacations. Prosecutors also want the Manganos to forfeit a luxury watch given to their son. 
"From the moment he was sworn in, the defendant engaged in a stunning abuse of power," federal prosecutors Catherine Mirabile, Christopher Caffarone and Lara Treinis Gatz said in the memo. "He monetized his power and influence and betrayed the people of Nassau County, most notably the residents of the TOB. The defendant put his financial interests above the interests of those he was elected to serve."<a data-onecms-id="contentid/storywidget.1.50533106" data-onecms-type="storywidget" href="#/content/contentid/storywidget.1.50533106">liMANGANO_wtk</a>
 
Mangano's defense attorney Kevin Keating called the 17 1/2 year sentence recommendation from the prosecution "astonishing" in a statement Thursday. 
"We strongly disagree with the government’s view of the trial evidence, their attempts to hold Mr. Mangano responsible for conduct for which he was acquitted, and their astonishing sentencing recommendation, and will reserve our further comments for the sentencing proceeding," Keating said. 
The Manganos had been scheduled to be sentenced March 23, but that court date will instead be used for attorneys to make oral arguments on the use of federal sentencing guidelines in deciding their sentences. U.S. District Court Judge Joan M. Azrack will now sentence the Manganos on April 14. 
Edward Mangano, 59, was convicted at his 2019 federal trial 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. 
Linda Mangano, 58, was found guilty of charges that included lying to the FBI about her $454,000 "no-show" job as a food taster. 
Prosecutors alleged at trial that the then-newly elected county executive was bribed by restaurateur Harendra Singh, the prosecution's star trial witness and a longtime concessionaire in Oyster Bay Town. 
Mangano, according to the jury verdict, pressured Town of Oyster Bay officials into indirectly backing the $20 million in loans for Singh, a floundering businessman who would have been ineligible to receive the loans on his own. 
In return, Singh lavished the Manganos with various items, including flooring for their bedroom, vacations, the luxury watch for one of their sons and the no-show job for Linda Mangano. 
In their court submission, prosecutors pointed to what they said was Mangano's "widespread corruption and dishonesty" that saw the former Republican power player "put his wallet ahead of the taxpayers." 
In arguing for the 17 1/2 years, prosecutors said they conducted an analysis of sentences meted out to other government officials convicted of public corruption. 
According to federal prosecutors, Mangano faces "an advisory guidelines range of life imprisonment." 
In the analysis of over 80 public officials convicted, prosecutors said just two faced similar guideline ranges and they received sentences of 240 months and 216 months. Mangano's recommended sentence was 210 months. 
"The defendant led a culture of corruption that permeated throughout his administration; it rotted from the top down," the prosecutors said, also referencing Mangano's top deputy Rob Walker, who was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for his attempted cover-up of a $5,000 payment he took from a county contractor. "His conduct eroded the public's faith in our government." 
Defense attorneys argued the items the Manganos received were not bribes, but gifts from a close family friend. 
Keating, in court filings earlier this month, argued his client should receive "substantial leniency" in sentencing because he has "lost virtually everything" …"all because 12 years ago a phony friend asked him to show up at a meeting." 
Keating also asserted: "As a matter of law, and fact, Edward Mangano is innocent." 
Prosecutors took issue with those arguments in their memo, saying the jury had already rejected the "specious" arguments. 
"The scope of the defendant's arrogance and the breadth of his criminal conduct is staggering," prosecutors said. 
In a Feb. 18 filing to the court, Linda Mangano's attorney, John Carman, requested the former newspaper publisher be sentenced to community service. Carman argued it was justified because she lived a life "defined by kindness and a selfless impulse to help others," while saying her life and marriage "are in shambles." 
Prosecutors are expected to file their sentencing recommendation for Linda Mangano on Friday.

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Former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano should get 17 1/2 years in prison for corruption, federal prosecutors say

Edward Mangano should get 17 1/2 years in prison for corruption, prosecutors say

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A federal judge has denied former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano’s bid for a new trial in his 2019 corruption conviction and set a March 23 date for sentencing. 
U.S. District Court Judge Joan M. Azrack, in a 162-page memorandum and order issued Thursday, rejected post-trial defense motions seeking to overturn Mangano’s 2019 conviction. 
Mangano’s wife and co-defendant, Linda Mangano, who was found guilty of lying to the FBI and obstruction of justice, had joined the motion for a new trial. Her bid was also denied and she’ll be sentenced on the same day as her husband. 
Mangano’s attorney Kevin Keating had sought his client’s acquittal on bribery charges based on multiple factors, including his contention that the government’s star witness, Harendra Singh, a restaurateur, committed perjury when he testified at trial. 
In a text message Thursday night, Keating said: "We are surprised and disappointed as we believe that, both on the law and the facts, dismissal of these remaining counts was required. But we are unbowed and will continue our fight." 
Keating additionally cited the 2020 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, which tossed three of the seven counts in the corruption conviction of former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Keating argued the Silver case set new standards for prosecutors in similar cases, and that Mangano should get a new trial and be acquitted on the bribery charges because of flaws in the jury instructions and insufficient trial evidence. 
Keating also sought a new trial based on the prosecution’s post-trial disclosure that another cooperating witness, Anthony Gulino, had bribed National Grid officials who dealt with him as a vendor for thousands of dollars in cash. Gulino had not disclosed his conduct to the government previously, which deprived Keating of the ability to cross-examine Gulino on the topic. 
Gulino, a businessman who won millions of dollars in Nassau County contracts, had testified at trial that he gave Mangano $3,600 in cash to gain "access" to the then-county executive after repairing a railing at Mangano’s home for free. 
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But the judge, in dismissing the argument, said: "To the extent that Gulino’s testimony has any relevance to sentencing, Mangano now knows about Gulino’s additional conduct and failure to disclose that conduct to the government, and he can raise arguments about that conduct at sentencing." 
John Marzulli, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, which prosecuted the Manganos, declined to comment. 
Linda Mangano’s attorney John Carman said in a text message Friday morning: "While the decision is disappointing, it represents the beginning of the end of a process that has already taken six years. Even so, Linda continues to show incredible strength and determination." 
Also on Friday, Azrack granted a prosecution request requiring Edward Mangano, who in 2020 began working at Oheka Castle, to provide the government’s Probation Department with updated information on his employment and earnings. Keating did not answer Friday when asked if Mangano is still working at the castle. 
During a seven-week jury trial in 2019, Edward Mangano was found 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. 
The jury convicted Mangano of using his influence as Nassau’s then-new county executive in 2010 to sway Oyster Bay officials into indirectly backing what amounted to $20 million in loans for Singh. 
Jurors found Linda Mangano guilty of conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and two counts of lying to the FBI in connection with what prosecutors said was a bribe in the form of her more than $100,000 annual no-show job provided by Singh. 
The couple’s first trial ended with a hung jury in May 2018. Another defendant, former Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto, was acquitted of corruption charges. 
The former county executive faces up to 20 years in prison, and Linda Mangano faces two to three years, although both are likely to receive lesser sentences under federal sentencing guidelines. 
During an April hearing on the motions, Keating questioned Singh about a statement he made in a sworn deposition in a civil court case later in 2019 that the bribes he gave Mangano related to Nassau County "had nothing to do with the Town of Oyster Bay." 
Singh testified that he felt "under duress" during his civil case appearance and was being a "wise guy" and "jerk" because of the way he was being questioned. 
Federal prosecutors have denied that Singh committed perjury during his lengthy testimony on the witness stand. 
Azrack, in her Thursday order, said the evidence presented at the April hearing failed to establish that Singh lied under oath. 
While Mangano was convicted on the Oyster Bay loan scheme, the jury acquitted him on charges that he steered two county contracts to Singh in 2012 that together were worth more than $400,000 — one for bread and rolls at Nassau’s jail, and one to feed relief workers after Superstorm Sandy. 
Mangano has also been disbarred as an attorney. 
Prosecutors put forth evidence at trial that Singh had given the Manganos a series of gifts that were bribes, including a $3,000 office chair, a $3,600 massage chair, about $3,000 for flooring in the Manganos’ bedroom, $19,000 in vacations and around $5,000 toward a luxury watch for the Manganos’ son. 
Singh also discounted a food bill for Mangano’s campaign by $42,000, prosecutors have said. 
While the defense argued they were not bribes, but simply presents from a longtime family friend, prosecutors countered that the gifts did not begin until after Mangano was elected county executive. 
Azrack said the defenses’ sentencing memos for both Manganos must be filed with the court by Feb. 11. The prosecution has until March 4 to respond.

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Federal judge denies former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano's bid for new trial

Judge denies Mangano's bid for new trial

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