A federal appeals court has reversed two counts of former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano’s conviction in connection to a loan scheme that involved the Town of Oyster Bay while Mangano was in office. He was sentenced in April 2022 to 12 years in federal prison for conspiring to accept and accepting illegal bribes while serving as the county executive and obstructing a federal grand jury.
Mangano persuaded Town of Oyster Bay officials to give contracts to Harendra Singh, who owned multiple concessions throughout the town. Singh received roughly $20 million from the town while providing officials with bribes to varying degrees.
His wife, Lisa Mangano, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for obstructing a federal grand jury and making false statements to a federal agent.
The appeals court released a 92-page document Feb. 13 reversing two of the counts of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery from his sentence and affirming all the other counts. The court also remanded the case to the district court for a resentencing of Mangano.
The appeals court made its decision based on “insufficient evidence.”
“The evidence at trial was also insufficient to hold Mangano liable for the conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery alleged in the indictment and identified by the jury,” the document said.
A jury had convicted the Republican lawmaker of accepting bribes and kickbacks in exchange for official government action, but acquitted him of extortion and honest services wire fraud, following a trial in 2019 at Central Islip federal court.
“Singh gave Mangano, among other things: a custom-made office chair worth approximately $2,700; roughly $42,000 as a discount on food for Mangano’s campaign; a massage chair worth over $3,600; over $20,000 in vacation expenses and hardwood flooring for the Manganos’ house; and approximately $7,000 to be spent on a luxury watch for the Manganos’ son,” the document said.
Four months into Mangano’s time as county executive, his wife was hired as a “no-show” employee by Singh. She would end up collecting over $400,000 until 2014.
“As the county’s highest elected official, Mangano enjoyed “tremendous political clout,” the appeals court said.
Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, reiterated that sentiment at Mangano’s sentencing in 2022.
“From the moment he was elected, Edward Mangano sold himself and his office,” he said. “He cashed in the power, the resources, and the influence of his office to enrich himself and his wife. For Ed Mangano, public service was self-service.”
Although Mangano was a Bethpage resident, he was not a Town of Oyster Bay official, which is why the appeals court found he could not be convicted of bribery charges in connection with the Town. Mangano had served as the Nassau County executive from 2010 to 2017. He also served as a county legislator from 1996 to 2009, representing areas of Bethpage, Hicksville, Plainedge, South Farmingdale, Levittown and Syosset – nearly all located within the Town of Oyster Bay.
“The government presented no evidence at trial that Mangano had authority to act on behalf of the town, nor that he was an employee or representative of the town,” the appeals court said last week.
Singh was sentenced to four years in prison back in 2024 for charges including conspiracy to commit federal program bribery and honest services wire fraud.
Linda Mangano’s sentencing was unchanged by the appeals court’s ruling.
