Former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano should get 17 1/2 years in prison for corruption, federal prosecutors say

Former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano should spend 17 1/2 years in federal prison because he "sold the power and influence of his office" in "a stunning abuse of power" by accepting bribes, federal prosecutors said Thursday.

Mangano was "motivated by greed and a sense of entitlement," said federal prosecutors. The former top county official is "unrepentant and shamelessly blames everyone else but himself for his crimes," they said, "His lack of remorse warrants a stiff sentence."

Besides serving the prison sentence for taking bribes to influence Oyster Bay town to indirectly guarantee $20 million in loans to a restaurateur, he should pay restitution "in the full amount of the victim's losses," prosecutors said.

That includes over $11 million to Phoenix Life Insurance Company, the company that repaid the defaulted loans and $4 million for the town's legal fees, prosecutors said.

The government, in its 25-page memorandum, also asked the court to issue a forfeiture order in the amount of $527,606.95 — the amount of the bribes Mangano received in the form of his wife Linda's "sham" no-show job and beach vacations. Prosecutors also want the Manganos to forfeit a luxury watch given to their son.

"From the moment he was sworn in, the defendant engaged in a stunning abuse of power," federal prosecutors Catherine Mirabile, Christopher Caffarone and Lara Treinis Gatz said in the memo. "He monetized his power and influence and betrayed the people of Nassau County, most notably the residents of the TOB. The defendant put his financial interests above the interests of those he was elected to serve."

Mangano's defense attorney Kevin Keating called the 17 1/2 year sentence recommendation from the prosecution "astonishing" in a statement Thursday.

"We strongly disagree with the government’s view of the trial evidence, their attempts to hold Mr. Mangano responsible for conduct for which he was acquitted, and their astonishing sentencing recommendation, and will reserve our further comments for the sentencing proceeding," Keating said.

The Manganos had been scheduled to be sentenced March 23, but that court date will instead be used for attorneys to make oral arguments on the use of federal sentencing guidelines in deciding their sentences. U.S. District Court Judge Joan M. Azrack will now sentence the Manganos on April 14.

Edward Mangano, 59, was convicted at his 2019 federal trial 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.

Linda Mangano, 58, was found guilty of charges that included lying to the FBI about her $454,000 "no-show" job as a food taster.

Prosecutors alleged at trial that the then-newly elected county executive was bribed by restaurateur Harendra Singh, the prosecution's star trial witness and a longtime concessionaire in Oyster Bay Town.

Mangano, according to the jury verdict, pressured Town of Oyster Bay officials into indirectly backing the $20 million in loans for Singh, a floundering businessman who would have been ineligible to receive the loans on his own.

In return, Singh lavished the Manganos with various items, including flooring for their bedroom, vacations, the luxury watch for one of their sons and the no-show job for Linda Mangano.

In their court submission, prosecutors pointed to what they said was Mangano's "widespread corruption and dishonesty" that saw the former Republican power player "put his wallet ahead of the taxpayers."

In arguing for the 17 1/2 years, prosecutors said they conducted an analysis of sentences meted out to other government officials convicted of public corruption.

According to federal prosecutors, Mangano faces "an advisory guidelines range of life imprisonment."

In the analysis of over 80 public officials convicted, prosecutors said just two faced similar guideline ranges and they received sentences of 240 months and 216 months. Mangano's recommended sentence was 210 months.

"The defendant led a culture of corruption that permeated throughout his administration; it rotted from the top down," the prosecutors said, also referencing Mangano's top deputy Rob Walker, who was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for his attempted cover-up of a $5,000 payment he took from a county contractor. "His conduct eroded the public's faith in our government."

Defense attorneys argued the items the Manganos received were not bribes, but gifts from a close family friend.

Keating, in court filings earlier this month, argued his client should receive "substantial leniency" in sentencing because he has "lost virtually everything" …"all because 12 years ago a phony friend asked him to show up at a meeting."

Keating also asserted: "As a matter of law, and fact, Edward Mangano is innocent."

Prosecutors took issue with those arguments in their memo, saying the jury had already rejected the "specious" arguments.

"The scope of the defendant's arrogance and the breadth of his criminal conduct is staggering," prosecutors said.

In a Feb. 18 filing to the court, Linda Mangano's attorney, John Carman, requested the former newspaper publisher be sentenced to community service. Carman argued it was justified because she lived a life "defined by kindness and a selfless impulse to help others," while saying her life and marriage "are in shambles."

Prosecutors are expected to file their sentencing recommendation for Linda Mangano on Friday.

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.