Mangano case: Star witness Harendra Singh should be sentenced to time served, attorney says

Harendra Singh, the government's star witness against ex-Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, provided “unprecedented cooperation” to federal prosecutors and should be spared prison time for his own crimes, Singh’s attorney wrote in a newly released sentencing memo.

Singh, 64, of Laurel Hollow — who testified to repeatedly bribing Edward Mangano with gifts, including a $450,000 no-show job for his wife, Linda Mangano — should be sentenced to time served and probation instead of a prison sentence of between 14½ and 17 years as calculated by federal sentencing guidelines, the memo said.

“A sentence imposed of time served would convey the seriousness of the offense while still affording Mr. Singh credit for his extraordinary cooperation,” Singh’s defense attorney, Anthony La Pinta of Hauppauge, wrote in a July 5 sentencing memorandum released this week.

Singh, during several days on the witness stand during two trials, testified that he bribed Edward Mangano with other gifts, including free meals and vacations, two luxury chairs, hardwood flooring for the master bedroom in the couple’s Bethpage home and a $7,300 wristwatch for one of the Manganos’ sons. In exchange, Singh said Mangano took official action to aid him, a concessionaire with the Town of Oyster Bay, in getting $20 million in the form of indirect loan guarantees from the town.

The jury deadlocked on the charges against the Manganos in their first trial. But the couple, who were friends of more than 25 years with Singh, was convicted of corruption-related charges at the close of the second trial in 2019.

Edward Mangano, 61, is serving a 12-year sentence in a federal prison in Massachusetts. Linda Mangano, 60, who was convicted of lying to the FBI, conspiracy and obstruction of justice, served about 5 months of her 15-year sentence and last month was released from home confinement. Both Manganos have appealed.

Singh spent eight months in jail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn following his September 2015 arrest and nearly three years on home confinement — punishment that La Pinta said in his memo to the court is “more than sufficient.”

“There is no doubt this arrest and prosecution, coupled with years of home confinement and prior custodial time is more than sufficient to deter any potential future criminal conduct by Mr. Singh,” La Pinta said. “Harendra has proved through his post-arrest cooperation that he is most deserving of your understanding and compassion.”

La Pinta acknowledged in his memo that his client had previously violated the terms of his $5 million bond conditions by using his wife’s cellphone and hanging out with a convicted felon — events that were photographed by an employee of Edward Mangano’s lawyer, Kevin Keating. Keating presented those images during the second Mangano trial in an attempt to undermine Singh’s credibility.

Singh, a former politically connected restaurant mogul whose establishments employed about 1,000 workers, has recently worked part time at a YMCA, as a consultant for an insurance company in Hicksville and also assists brokers with real estate transactions, the memo said. He earned about $20,000 last year, his lawyer wrote. 

Singh’s wife and three sons, whose names were redacted in the memo along with other apparently personal information, also asked for mercy.

“He has wholeheartedly taken responsibility for his actions and has made it his mission to become a better person,” said one son, identified only as a medical school student.

Singh pleaded guilty in 2016 as part of a cooperation agreement to an eight-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit federal program bribery and honest services wire fraud related to the Town of Oyster Bay loan scheme and a nearly $1 million fraudulent claim to FEMA that the Water’s Edge, a Queens catering hall he owned, was damaged during Superstorm Sandy.

“Harendra has been living in limbo ever since he pleaded guilty to eight counts in his indictment,” wrote La Pinta. “It is our belief that his monumental assistance should be recognized by the government and the court. The only way that can be accomplished is by now allowing him to return to his family, maintain his liberty and begin to rebuild his life.”

Catherine Mirabile, who was part of the team that prosecuted the Manganos and personally questioned Singh when he testified, wrote in a recent letter to the court that Singh should serve less than the guidelines because of his “substantial assistance” with the case over several years. Mirabile also requested that Singh pay $22,824,082.54 in restitution.

U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack, who presided over the Manganos’ trials, will decide Singh’s fate when she sentences him Wednesday.

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com@NicoleFuller

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.