Town of Oyster Bay ‘would be on the hook’ if Singh defaulted, witness testifies

A lending officer who approved two of restaurateur Harendra Singh’s Town of Oyster Bay-guaranteed loans testified Tuesday that Singh wouldn’t have qualified without the town’s willingness to “be on the hook” if he defaulted.

“We were comfortable knowing we were going to be paid by the Town of Oyster Bay if this blew up,” said Thomas Gilmartin, a former executive vice president and chief lending officer of Madison National Bank in Hauppauge.

Singh’s own finances were “not good,” he said.

Gilmartin detailed the process of facilitating Singh’s $1.5 million town-guaranteed line of credit and a $3.4 million loan with the bank in 2010, testifying at the federal corruption trial of former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and former Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto.

Loans to Singh indirectly guaranteed by Oyster Bay and totaling more than $20 million over the years are at the center of prosecutors’ case against Mangano and Venditto.

Gilmartin said he dealt with only then-Deputy Town Attorney Frederick Mei, never Venditto.

But he acknowledged that in the bank’s files was a 2010 resolution noting that Venditto voted “aye” to the town measure allowing him to amend concession contracts for Singh to get him financing for capital improvements at town-controlled properties.

Singh, who was on the stand for the first four weeks of the trial in Central Islip, had testified that he ingratiated himself to the players in the local political scene to boost his businesses.

Jurors Tuesday saw an email describing to what lengths.

“Mr. H wants to impress his political friends,” reads the internal October 2011 company email about dessert platters and “running everything impeccably” at the wedding of a daughter of former town Parks Commissioner Frank Nocerino.

The wedding was hosted at Singh’s Water’s Edge restaurant in Queens.

“Keep in mind these guest are long islanders, so It should be good enough to feed 13-14 ppl seating on each table,” the email reads.

The sentiment drew laughter throughout the courtroom.

Singh, 59, of Laurel Hollow, pleaded guilty to bribing Mangano and Venditto with perks — including free vacations for Mangano; a no-show job for Mangano’s wife, Linda, with pay totaling $450,000; and free limousine services for Venditto — in exchange for the town-guaranteed loans and county contracts.

The charges against Mangano, 56, of Bethpage, and Venditto, 68, of North Massapequa, include conspiracy to commit federal program bribery and honest-services fraud.

Other charges include extortion for Mangano and securities fraud for Venditto.

The charges against Linda Mangano, 54, of Bethpage, include obstruction of justice and making false statements to the FBI.

The three have pleaded not guilty.

Mei, who has pleaded guilty to taking bribes from Singh, is expected to testify as a prosecution witness.

Gilmartin said Tuesday that the bank was going to reject Singh’s request in early 2010 for a $1.5 million line of credit for working capital until he learned Mei said Oyster Bay was willing to provide a guarantee.

This changed everything, Gilmartin said.

The town at the time had a top bond rating.

“The town would be on the hook,” he said.

According to a solution proposed by Mei, the town would agree to assign concession payments to Madison National Bank if Singh defaulted, Gilmartin said.

Singh then contacted Gilmartin in fall 2010 about a second loan, and Mei communicated to him that the town was “supportive,” Gilmartin testified.

Because the new loan amount was higher — $3.4 million — the bank wanted an opinion letter from an outside legal counsel as “a comfort,” Gilmartin said.

And instead of using an assignment of concession agreement, language guaranteeing the loan was inserted into a “special conditions agreement,” Gilmartin said.

Mei told Gilmartin in a March 10, 2011 email: “Madison will be made whole by the town. There is absolutely no scenario where the bank would be at a loss.”

Later Tuesday, Paul Evwiehor, who had been an assistant general manager and then general manager at Water’s Edge, testified that Singh asked him to be a straw donor to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. Singh has said he first met de Blasio when de Blasio was the city’s public advocate.

Evwiehor said that he worked at Water’s Edge from 2010 to 2015, and de Blasio held two fundraisers there free of charge.

When someone from de Blasio’s office called to ask for a bill, Singh told Evwiehor to “have them create a bill,” Evwiehor said on the stand.

Singh asked Evwiehor to attend one of the fundraisers, which cost $1,500 a ticket, promising to reimburse him, Evwiehor said.

“I got refunded a week after,” the witness said, adding that he didn’t know it was illegal until the FBI told him.

Straw donors are used to skirt campaign finance limits.

Singh has testified he bribed de Blasio with campaign contributions in exchange for help with Water’s Edge.

De Blasio’s fundraising was investigated, but he was not charged and he has denied any inappropriate or illegal behavior.

Evwiehor also testified Tuesday said he never saw “evidence of any kind” that Linda Mangano worked at the restaurant.

But Evwiehor said he did once see “the Mangano check.”

The witness said he quizzed Singh’s comptroller about it.

“He took it away from me. He said I wasn’t supposed to see that,” Evwiehor said.

Evwiehor said Linda Mangano didn’t take part in marketing tasks that he and other Singh restaurant managers got emails about, and he didn’t see her at marketing meetings.

The prosecution introduced emails that included discussions of a proposed marketing plan for private affairs, changes in an Easter menu, an updated event RSVP list and a Thanksgiving email blast. Evwiehor said Mangano didn’t help with any of these projects.

Evwiehor, whose wife was also a Singh employee and testified earlier in the trial, has a nonprosecution agreement because he facilitated the processing of an off-the-books cash payroll and failed to pay federal income taxes.

Singh began asking him to do things he felt uncomfortable with — for example, deleting some parties from an internal catering system — so Evwiehor started recording conversations with his boss and turned them over the FBI, he said.

Questioned by John Carman, Linda Mangano’s attorney, Evwiehor said he didn’t supervise Joseph Scalice, the Singh manager who had emailed with Mangano in 2010 about marketing tasks.

But, Evwiehor said, if one manager discussed marketing strategy, they all would have heard about it.