Edward Mangano starts 12-year prison sentence for corruption conviction, Federal Bureau of Prisons says

Former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano surrendered Wednesday to start his federal prison term, completing the once-popular Republican leader's downfall, from a perch atop a government serving more than a million residents to the confines of a complex of about 960 inmates.

A spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed Mangano, 60, of Bethpage, is serving his 12-year sentence at a Massachusetts facility known as Federal Medical Center, Devens. The prison complex is on the grounds of a former military base about 35 miles northwest of Boston.

The ex-politician's surrender capped a yearslong corruption case that also ensnared his wife, Linda Mangano, in a bribery scheme connected to their longtime family friend, restaurateur Harendra Singh.

Linda Mangano, 59, began serving her 15-month sentence Friday in a minimum security satellite camp at a federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut.

Both spouses maintain their innocence and began their prison terms after each made two failed attempts to stay free on bail while pursuing appeals of their convictions. Prosecutors opposed those efforts.

A jury in 2019 found Edward Mangano 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 Linda Mangano guilty of lying to the FBI, conspiracy to obstruct justice and obstruction of justice.

Edward Mangano's attorney, Kevin Keating, declined to comment Wednesday on his client's surrender. John Marzulli, a spokesman for the Eastern District U.S. Attorney's Office, also declined to comment.

Keating told Newsday on Tuesday after a Manhattan federal appeals court denied the former county executive's bail motion that while "disappointed," the defense remained confident that Edward Mangano's "narrow conviction will be reversed."

 The ex-county executive's incarceration comes seven months after his  former top deputy, ex-Nassau Chief Deputy County Executive Rob Walker, began an 18-month sentence at a federal prison in New Jersey following his obstruction of justice conviction. 

U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack said at the Manganos' sentencing in April, which followed a 2018 mistrial and 2019 retrial, that their court case "laid bare a culture of corruption." She also told the former county executive that "the rot ran deep" within both Nassau County and himself.

Inside Devens, Mangano will wear a uniform of khaki trousers and shirts and will have to don an identification card upon leaving his assigned quarters, according to the "Inmate Admission & Orientation Handbook" for the prison that is online.

Mangano, who was known for taking smoking breaks during court proceedings, won't be allowed to smoke in the facility, according to the handbook.

It says the general wake-up time for inmates is 6 a.m. and that late sleepers who are unable to maintain their quarters properly or arrive at work on time are subject to disciplinary action. Inmates get about 22 minutes for each meal and 300 minutes of telephone time every month.

 Available wellness classes include basic yoga instruction and weight management and organized team sports include softball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, handball and bocce, according to the handbook. 

The prison houses general population inmates who don't have specialized needs, but also treats inmates with chronic medical conditions and gets psychiatric and medical referrals from other federal prisons, according to the Bureau of Prisons.

The agency designates Devens as an administrative facility, meaning it has a special mission and also can hold inmates in all security categories. While it has an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp, Mangano is not assigned to that part of the prison, according to a BOP spokesman.