Feds: Linda Mangano, wife of ex-Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, released from federal prison
Linda Mangano, the wife of former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, leaves federal court in Central Islip on April 14 after being sentenced to 15 months in prison. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
The wife of former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, convicted alongside him in connection with a political corruption scheme that roiled Nassau politics, is serving the remainder of her sentence under home confinement after she was transferred out of a federal prison in Connecticut last month, officials said Tuesday.
Linda Mangano, 59, was transferred on Jan. 26 from the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury to community confinement overseen by the federal Bureau of Prisons’ New York Residential Reentry Management Office, said Emery Nelson, a BOP spokesperson.
Mangano, who began serving her 15-month sentence in September after multiple failed attempts to stay out of prison while appealing, was released after spending just five months in the minimum security camp. Mangano is slated to be released from Bureau of Prisons custody, ending her home confinement, on Aug. 12, according to the BOP.
It’s unclear why Linda Mangano was released early, though federal prisoners serving sentences of more than a year are statutorily given 15% sentence reductions for good behavior. Federal prisoners can also typically serve three to six months of their sentence in a halfway house.
The Bureau of Prisons has also released scores of prisoners from federal prison to reduce crowding during the COVID-19 pandemic, under the CARES Act, and the Trump-era First Step Act has allowed nonviolent prisoners to earn credit toward early release.
“For privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not disclose an individual's specific location in community confinement, nor do we discuss their conditions of confinement, reasons for transfer, or release plans,” Nelson said in response to Newsday’s questions about Linda Mangano’s early release.
Linda Mangano’s appeals attorney, Bradley Simon, did not respond to a phone message and email seeking comment Tuesday. Linda Mangano could not be reached. A spokesman for the Eastern District of New York, which prosecuted the Manganos, declined to comment.
Linda Mangano was convicted at trial in 2019 of conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and two counts of lying to the FBI.
Her husband was found 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 in connection with a quid-pro-quo scheme that had the then-county executive accepting bribes from the politically connected restaurateur Harendra Singh, who was also a longtime Mangano family friend.
The Bethpage couple has filed appeals in an effort to overturn their convictions.
Edward Mangano, 60, who is serving a 12-year sentence in a federal prison in Massachusetts, is scheduled for release on Oct. 14, 2032, according to the BOP.
The Manganos’ first trial ended in a mistrial and the acquittal of Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto — a co-defendant — who was later convicted of state corruption charges. Venditto died in March 2020.
Singh, the prosecution’s star witness at both of the Manganos’ trials, pleaded guilty to charges including bribery, conspiracy and tax evasion and is scheduled to be sentenced next week.
Singh’s attorney, Anthony La Pinta, has said his client provided the government with “monumental help” in prosecuting the Manganos and is hoping for a “reasonable sentence.”
In exchange for the bribes, which included a $454,000 "no-show” job for Linda Mangano, free meals and vacations, two luxury chairs, flooring for the Manganos’ bedroom and a $7,300 watch for one of their sons, the jury found that Edward Mangano used his position to influence Town of Oyster Bay officials into indirectly backing $20 million in loans for Singh, who was also a longtime town concessionaire.
The wife of former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, convicted alongside him in connection with a political corruption scheme that roiled Nassau politics, is serving the remainder of her sentence under home confinement after she was transferred out of a federal prison in Connecticut last month, officials said Tuesday.
Linda Mangano, 59, was transferred on Jan. 26 from the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury to community confinement overseen by the federal Bureau of Prisons’ New York Residential Reentry Management Office, said Emery Nelson, a BOP spokesperson.
Mangano, who began serving her 15-month sentence in September after multiple failed attempts to stay out of prison while appealing, was released after spending just five months in the minimum security camp. Mangano is slated to be released from Bureau of Prisons custody, ending her home confinement, on Aug. 12, according to the BOP.
It’s unclear why Linda Mangano was released early, though federal prisoners serving sentences of more than a year are statutorily given 15% sentence reductions for good behavior. Federal prisoners can also typically serve three to six months of their sentence in a halfway house.
WHAT TO KNOW
- Linda Mangano, wife of ex-Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, has been released from a federal prison where she had been serving a 15-month sentence for corruption.
- She was transferred on Jan. 26 from the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury to community confinement overseen by the federal Bureau of Prisons’ New York Residential Reentry Management Office, officials said.
- Mangano is slated to be released from Bureau of Prisons custody, ending her home confinement, on Aug. 12, officials said.
The Bureau of Prisons has also released scores of prisoners from federal prison to reduce crowding during the COVID-19 pandemic, under the CARES Act, and the Trump-era First Step Act has allowed nonviolent prisoners to earn credit toward early release.
“For privacy, safety, and security reasons, we do not disclose an individual's specific location in community confinement, nor do we discuss their conditions of confinement, reasons for transfer, or release plans,” Nelson said in response to Newsday’s questions about Linda Mangano’s early release.
Linda Mangano’s appeals attorney, Bradley Simon, did not respond to a phone message and email seeking comment Tuesday. Linda Mangano could not be reached. A spokesman for the Eastern District of New York, which prosecuted the Manganos, declined to comment.
Linda Mangano was convicted at trial in 2019 of conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and two counts of lying to the FBI.
Former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano leaves in federal court in Central Islip on April 14 after a judget sentenced him to 12 years in prison for corruption. Credit: Debbie Egan-Chin
Her husband was found 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 in connection with a quid-pro-quo scheme that had the then-county executive accepting bribes from the politically connected restaurateur Harendra Singh, who was also a longtime Mangano family friend.
The Bethpage couple has filed appeals in an effort to overturn their convictions.
Edward Mangano, 60, who is serving a 12-year sentence in a federal prison in Massachusetts, is scheduled for release on Oct. 14, 2032, according to the BOP.
The Manganos’ first trial ended in a mistrial and the acquittal of Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto — a co-defendant — who was later convicted of state corruption charges. Venditto died in March 2020.
Singh, the prosecution’s star witness at both of the Manganos’ trials, pleaded guilty to charges including bribery, conspiracy and tax evasion and is scheduled to be sentenced next week.
Singh’s attorney, Anthony La Pinta, has said his client provided the government with “monumental help” in prosecuting the Manganos and is hoping for a “reasonable sentence.”
In exchange for the bribes, which included a $454,000 "no-show” job for Linda Mangano, free meals and vacations, two luxury chairs, flooring for the Manganos’ bedroom and a $7,300 watch for one of their sons, the jury found that Edward Mangano used his position to influence Town of Oyster Bay officials into indirectly backing $20 million in loans for Singh, who was also a longtime town concessionaire.
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
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