Feds: Edward Mangano should not get bail while appealing corruption conviction

Federal prosecutors have pushed back against a bid by former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano to stay free on bail while pursuing an appeal of his corruption conviction.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a Friday court filing that Mangano’s arguments for bail fail to raise a substantial question of law likely to result in a reversal or new trial — part of the standard for such a successful defense motion.

Prosecutors also called Mangano’s claims of insufficient evidence and prosecutorial misconduct “equally unpersuasive” in what they dubbed his “last-ditch effort” to avoid prison.

U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack recently extended Mangano’s date to surrender to prison officials to start his 12-year sentence to July 13 — a month’s delay — during haggling over the bail motion that she’ll decide.

Prosecutors also said in their court filing that Azrack previously rejected most of the defense’s current arguments for bail pending appeal — while predicting that an appellate court will do the same.

If Azrack fails to grant Mangano continued bail at this stage, it’s expected that he will take his battle to a higher court as the clock ticks down to his surrender date.

A lawyer for Mangano, 60, of Bethpage, has argued Nassau’s former top government official isn’t a flight risk or danger to the community and there are substantial legal arguments that could lead to a conviction reversal or new trial.

Defense attorney Kevin Keating also said in the motion for bail that Mangano is a lifelong Bethpage resident with deep community ties who previously surrendered his passport.

The Garden City lawyer said the ex-county executive also has “scrupulously complied” with release conditions while out on $500,000 bond “over the course of six years and two trials.”

In a rare instance of agreement, federal prosecutors said in their filing that they agree Mangano isn't a flight risk or a danger to the community. But that didn't alter their stance on his motion to remain free.

"Mangano has fallen far short of meeting his burden, and ... his motion should therefore be denied," prosecutors wrote, while also opposing a defense request for a stay of a $20,000 fine Azrack levied against Mangano at sentencing.

A jury in 2019 convicted Mangano and his wife Linda in a bribery scheme involving politically connected restaurateur Harendra Singh, a longtime family friend.

Jurors 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 panel found he used his influence as a newly-elected county executive to sway town officials into indirectly backing $20 million in loans for Singh after an outside lawyer for the town said that was illegal.

Singh testified he bribed the government official with a $454,000 “no-show” job for Linda Mangano in his restaurant empire, free meals and vacations, two luxury chairs, hardwood flooring for the couple’s bedroom and a $7,300 wristwatch for one of their sons.

Evidence showed Singh put Linda Mangano on his payroll before Oyster Bay officials voted to authorize the backing of loans for Singh to fund capital improvements at a town golf course catering hall in Woodbury and at Tobay Beach, where he ran concessions.

The jury found the Manganos conspired to obstruct a grand jury probe by scheming with Singh to fabricate examples of work Linda never did, before she lied to federal officials about work she claimed to have performed.

However, the Manganos continue to insist on their innocence.

Edward Mangano’s bail motion also laid out the framework for his appeal, which prosecutors then attacked in their court paperwork.

The appeal will rely in part on a 2016 Supreme Court case to claim that some counts of Mangano’s conviction were tainted by the prosecution’s reliance on a “legally infirm” bribery theory.

Keating contends Mangano’s actions related to Oyster Bay appeared to fall short of “official action” under the federal bribery statute.

Among other appeal arguments will be that jurors improperly convicted Mangano of federal program bribery charges related to Oyster Bay “insofar as he was not an agent" of the town.

"This Court has already (and, in some instances, repeatedly) rejected most of the points Mangano now seeks to resurrect, and Mangano's arguments on these points are no better now than when the Court previously rejected them," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in its opposition filing.

Eastern District U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman John Marzulli declined to comment on Monday, as did Keating.

An attorney for Linda Mangano, 59, who is due to surrender to prison officials June 27 for her 15-month sentence, also previously made a motion for her to stay free on bail during her appeal.

Prosecutors have yet to respond to that filing.