Singh, in his testimony, describes lavishing gifts on officials

To hear Harendra Singh explain it, he was the sugar daddy for Oyster Bay and Nassau Republicans. He was both their winning lottery ticket and efficient concierge. He was the Bank of Singh.

Singh’s four days of testimony at the federal corruption trial of former Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto, former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and his wife, Linda Mangano, has featured his explanation for a series of lavish gifts — trips, cash, limo rides, meals and more — of the type normally won by game show contestants. According to Singh, it was all done to “protect my investment” as someone whose restaurant empire relied on government contracts and connections to succeed.

Defense attorneys in the case have said Singh is exaggerating and distorting what happened as part of another deal — this one with federal prosecutors, in which he pleaded guilty to bribery and cooperated in return for a favorable sentence down the road. Edward Mangano’s attorney, Kevin Keating of Garden City, said in his opening statement that Singh’s lavish gift-givings were not bribes, but Singh is calling them bribes now to lessen his potential time in prison.

“I think by the end of this trial, it will be quite clear that Singh’s view of the world is completely false,” Keating said later during the trial.

“John Venditto got nothing of any consequence, any significance,” his attorney, Marc Agnifilo, said in his opening statement. “And when it comes to bribes, size matters.”

Edward Mangano, 56, of Bethpage, and Venditto, 68, of North Massapequa, face charges including conspiracy to commit federal program bribery and honest services wire fraud. Linda Mangano, 54, of Bethpage, faces charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice.

The three have pleaded not guilty.

Over and over again, Singh testified that he felt obligated to supply Mangano and Venditto and other public officials with whatever they desired.

“I was always interested in protecting my investment,” Singh said at one point. “When he [Venditto] asked me to do something, you just do it. You don’t question it. With one action they could throw you out.”

So to protect what he had, he said he gave generously and often.

At first, he said, what he provided was indirect, such as heavily discounted food and office space to Mangano’s campaign headquarters when he first ran for county executive in 2009. But after Mangano defeated incumbent Democrat Thomas Suozzi that November, the personal gifts began.

They included, Singh said:

• A special office chair for Mangano, made by race car seat manufacturer Recaro. Singh said Mangano handed him a printout about the chair and asked him to buy it, for $2,500 to $3,000. Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Mirabile asked Singh why he got it. “It was a very expensive chair, and you don’t buy such a chair unless he is useful to you.”
• A no-show job for Linda Mangano, at Edward Mangano’s request. Singh said Mangano asked him to pay her $100,000 a year in April 2010, right when Singh wanted Mangano to pressure the Town of Oyster Bay to guarantee business loans he needed. Singh personally delivered her paycheck to the Mangano home for a while, he said. The job ended the day after the FBI raided Singh’s office with a search warrant, he said, because he was concerned the job might look like a bribe. “Was it a bribe?” Mirabile asked. “Yes,” he replied.
• A free iPhone for Sheriff Michael Sposato. That came in 2012 while Singh was lobbying Sposato for a contract to supply the Nassau County jail with bread and rolls. “He asked for it. I gave it to him,” Singh testified, saying he did so because Sposato “was in charge for the contract.”
• A Brookstone massage chair for Mangano that cost $3,623.73. Mangano had noticed a similar chair at Singh’s house and said he wanted one, so Singh got it for him in September 2012. “I knew that he liked that chair and he was county executive and he was very helpful to me,” Singh said.
• Special food for VIPs after superstorm Sandy hit in October 2012. While first responders and other emergency workers got pasta and beef from Singh after he won a no-bid contract, he made sure to send steak, veal and shrimp for Mangano, Sposato and others.

A $7,300 watch for Edward Mangano’s son, Sal, when he turned 21 in November 2012. Mangano gave Singh $2,500 in cash to buy the Panerai Luminor watch that Sal wanted, but Singh said the watch cost more than $7,000. “Just buy the watch for him,” Mangano said, according to Singh, so he did.

Hardwood flooring for the Manganos’ bedroom in 2013. After Edward Mangano complained that dog urine had ruined the carpeting in their room, Singh said he took Linda to Gold Coast Flooring in Hicksville to pick out what she liked. He said he paid about $4,600 to buy it and install it, he said.

• Five vacations for the Mangano family between 2010 and 2014. On Singh’s tab, the Manganos went to Niagara Falls, Saratoga Springs, two vacation spots in Florida and the Turks and Caicos Islands. On that trip, Singh said he paid $9,922 for five nights in two oceanfront suites for the two families. The entire trip cost $17,498, he said.
• Limo and car service for Venditto and his family and friends. These included, Singh said, a limo and a hotel for Venditto’s chief of staff, Rich Porcelli, and his “girlfriend”; limos for the bachelor parties and wedding of Venditto’s son Michael (who briefly served as both a county legislator and state senator); trips to the Metropolitan Opera for Venditto, and numerous others. Singh said the trips cost him thousands of dollars, but he didn’t mind. “I had millions of dollars invested in Oyster Bay,” Singh said. “When someone from the town asked you to do something, you get it done.”
• All kinds of gifts for Oyster Bay Deputy Town Attorney Frederick Mei. These included trips all over the world for him and his family, paying for his BMW’s lease and maintenance, and a total of $90,000 in cash bribes after Mei helped engineer four town-guaranteed loans for Singh’s businesses. As with Mangano and Venditto, Singh had a similar explanation for why he bribed Mei: “Fred Mei was the nuts and bolts guy” for all Singh’s deals with the town, Singh said. “If his father likes to go to Italy or his niece likes to go to South Korea, I would pay for it.”

Mei, who pleaded guilty to taking bribes from Singh, is expected to be another prosecution witness.

Singh has spent four days testifying for the prosecution. The defense’s cross-examination of him, which will begin Monday, likely will take at least a week to complete.

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.