Judge orders ex-Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano to pay $10.6M in restitution

Ex-Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, who was convicted of using his official position to influence the Town of Oyster Bay into indirectly guaranteeing loans for a town concessionaire in exchange for several bribes, has been ordered to pay more than $10.6 million in restitution to two Connecticut insurance companies that were on the hook for the defaulted loans.

U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack ordered Mangano, who was sentenced to serve 12 years in prison for his crimes, to pay the restitution at a rate of $25 every three months while he is in prison and 10% of his gross monthly income after he completes his prison term.

“Having considered all the evidence in the record, I find — based on Mangano’s own acts and the reasonably foreseeable acts of his co-conspirators — that Mangano is liable for restitution in the amount of $10,630,016.80,” Azrack said in the order.

Mangano is scheduled to begin serving his prison sentence on July 27 unless the judge allows him to remain free on bail while his appeal is adjudicated. The judge has not yet ruled on the request for bail pending his appeal.

Mangano’s attorney, Kevin Keating, said in a statement Thursday: "The trial evidence was unambiguous that Ed Mangano had zero involvement in these loans and was unaware of their existence. We look forward to addressing this issue on appeal."

Mangano, 60, and his wife, Linda Mangano, 59, were convicted during their 2019 jury trial in connection with the bribery scheme involving Harendra Singh, a politically connected restaurateur, Town of Oyster Bay concessionaire and longtime family friend. Their first trial ended in a hung jury and the acquittal of the late Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto, who later pleaded guilty to state corruption charges.

Edward Mangano 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. He maintains his innocence and is appealing his conviction.

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.

The loans were privately placed with two related Connecticut-based companies, Phoenix Life Insurance Co. and PHL Variable Insurance Co., by Purchase, New York-based NDH Capital Corp.

The insurance companies submitted a restitution order on April 14 — the day of Mangano’s sentencing — asserting that they sustained more than $10 million in losses from the NDH loans after Singh defaulted on the loans and the Town of Oyster Bay guarantees, the order said.

The indirect loan guarantees “which were executed by Len Genova and Singh as part of the TOB Loan Scheme were ultimately found by state and federal courts not to be enforceable,” the judge wrote.

Genova, the former Oyster Bay Town attorney, testified for the prosecution against Mangano under an immunity agreement. Separately, Genova settled a civil complaint with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for “defrauding investors” and violating securities law in 2018. He was recently disbarred.

The judge noted that neither Singh nor Frederick Mei, a former Oyster Bay Town deputy attorney who admitted to taking bribes from Singh, have been sentenced yet but could be also ordered to pay restitution.

Singh has pleaded guilty to charges including bribery, conspiracy and tax evasion and Mei pleaded guilty to honest services fraud in connection with the loan scheme. Both men testified against Mangano at trial.

"Mangano will be jointly and severally liable with any other defendants who are ultimately found liable for restitution based on Phoenix’s losses from the NDH loans," the judge wrote.

Federal prosecutors have argued that Mangano's appeal arguments for bail fail to raise a substantial question of law likely to result in a reversal or new trial — the standard for a successful defense motion — and therefore Mangano should report to prison while his appeal is pending.

But his attorney has argued that Mangano's actions in the Oyster Bay loan scheme — including his attendance at a meeting with Singh, Venditto and others — wasn't an "official action" under precedent set in a 2016 Supreme Court case involving a former Virginia governor that limited the definition of what prosecutors could call an official action by a government official.

Linda Mangano was convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice, obstruction of justice and two counts of lying to the FBI. She's slated to serve her time at a minimum security prison camp in Danbury, Connecticut, but has also requested bail pending appeal. The judge has not yet ruled on the request. She is scheduled to surrender to federal prison officials on July 27, the same day her husband is scheduled to surrender.

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.