Long Island, NY – A former top elected official on New York’s Long Island was convicted on Friday of taking bribes to help a local businessman obtain millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded loans, federal prosecutors announced.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
A federal court jury in Central Islip, New York, found former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano guilty of bribery, honest services fraud, obstruction of justice and conspiracy charges, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue.
Mangano, a Republican, was the top elected official in Nassau County, one of the wealthiest counties in the United States. His term ended in 2017 and he did not seek re-election.
Mangano’s wife, Linda Mangano, was also convicted of related charges of obstruction of justice and making false statements to federal agents.
The most serious charges carry up to 20 years in prison, prosecutors said.
“Linda is disappointed by the verdict but remains optimistic that she will be vindicated on appeal,” Linda Mangano’s lawyer, John Carman, said in an email.
A lawyer for Edward Mangano could not immediately be reached for comment.
Prosecutors had charged Mangano and John Venditto, a former town supervisor of Oyster Bay, Long Island, with accepting bribes and kickbacks from restaurateur Harendra Singh in exchange for favorable treatment, including government contracts and loans. They said the bribes included a no-show job for Linda Mangano.
Singh was separately charged in 2015, pleaded guilty and testified at the trial. He was a major fundraiser for New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who was also investigated for possible corruption by state and federal authorities but ultimately not charged. De Blasio has denied wrongdoing.
Nassau County’s finances have been in disarray for years and are subject to a state-operated oversight board.
A previous trial for the Manganos, both 56, ended last May with a hung jury. Venditto was cleared of related charges in the same trial.
Venditto, also a Republican, resigned in 2017 from the town supervisor position in Oyster Bay, located in the eastern part of the county.
where there is money, there are those who try to get it either by stealing or through corrupt actions….
I think he was acquitted of some of the charges. U might want to double check the specifics
The wife had a $100,000 no show job as a food taster for a restaurant. No chance of getting food poisoning with that job.
The idea that bribery results in a 20 year prison sentence seems a bit to excessive and inhuman. Especially when noone really got hurt or lost out bec you as a politician did someone a favor. of course its wrong but 20 years for that crime?? We have become a nation of laws but without any mercy or pity. Sad state of our counrty
Archy, you would like it if there was no penalty at all, for people convicted of felonies. It just doesn’t work that way; if you do the crime, you do the time!