Did Joseph Mondello get a discount on daughter’s wedding?
A wedding catering bill addressed to Nassau County Republican Chair Joseph Mondello from Harendra Singh. Credit: Joseph Mondello
Nassau County GOP chairman Joseph Mondello is coming out swinging against testimony by restaurateur Harendra Singh that could muddy the waters of his Senate confirmation hearing to be the next U.S. ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago.
On Monday, Singh — the star witness in the federal corruption trial of Edward Mangano, the former Nassau County executive, and John Venditto, the former Oyster Bay Town supervisor — testified on Monday that he discounted the June 2006 wedding of Mondello’s daughter, Lisa, at The Woodlands in Woodbury. The discount was first from $65,000 to $55,000, then $40,000 and then to $35,000, he said. Singh said the requests to cut the price three times came at the request of Venditto and his aides. Singh said he did so because Venditto, whom he testified was his benefactor in getting business from the town, needed to stay in Mondello’s good graces.
A Republican Party official told The Point on Wednesday that the trial testimony “was on the radar screen” of the Trump administration but he didn’t think the testimony would trip up Mondello’s nomination unless there are more revelations.
Mondello angrily denied to The Point that he had any conversations with Singh or asked for a discount. “I got what I paid for, nothing more,” he said. Asked whether anyone would have intervened to ask on his behalf, he said, “I don’t know. How can I know that?”
A $37,250 undated bill Mondello gave to The Point shows the cost of the wedding was $34,745, including added charges for costs during the event, such as meals for the band, security and a gratuity. Mondello’s bill showed a $9,750 balance, which the GOP leader said he paid.
Mondello took pains to point out that he paid $150 per person for a wedding with about 250 guests, which he said was a lot of money 12 years ago for a venue at the town’s golf course. “After all, this place isn’t The Plaza hotel,” he said. “It isn’t even the Fox Hollow.”
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