Singh bribery case also involves unnamed NYC official

Long Island restauranteur Harendra Singh pleaded guilty to federal charges in a bribery attempt involving an unnamed New York City official whose dealings with Singh are consistent with those of Mayor Bill de Blasio, newly unsealed court records show.

Singh admitted in October 2016 to bribing former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and former Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto, and attempting to bribe the city official.

Singh, 59, of Syosset, said he gave “donations to the elected official in exchange for efforts by that official and other City officials to obtain a lease renewal from the City agency for my restaurant on terms that were favorable to me,” according to a court transcript.

De Blasio faced investigations into his fundraising practices by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, but no criminal charges were filed.

The mayor said Wednesday that he was unaware of Singh’s guilty plea in the Eastern District court.

“I don’t know anything about that specifically,” de Blasio told Newsday at an unrelated Washington, D.C. event.

Singh, his immediate family members and people from whom he bundled donations gave more than $54,000 in contributions to de Blasio’s 2013 mayoral campaign and transition committee, according to campaign finance records.

Singh was seeking a lease renewal from the de Blasio administration for the riverfront Water’s Edge restaurant he ran on city-owned land in Long Island City, Queens, according to emails obtained by Newsday via the Freedom of Information Law.

The newly released court documents do not reference de Blasio by name but include several details about Singh’s dealings with “Official #2” that indicate he was discussing the mayor.

Singh hosted a fundraiser on Oct. 12, 2013 for the official and sent an email Dec. 16, 2014 to an aide to that official indicating he “needed help” with a city agency, prosecutors said in the court transcript.

A “New Yorkers for de Blasio” campaign fundraiser was held Oct. 12, 2013 at Water’s Edge, according to an invoice obtained by Newsday.

An email from Singh to de Blasio aide Javon Coney, dated Dec. 16, 2014, reads: “Please let me know when is the best time to call. I need help with DECAS [sic]. Please advise,” according to correspondences obtained by Newsday.

DCAS is a reference to the Department of Citywide Administrative Services, the agency managing the Water’s Edge lease.

Prosecutors said a senior aide to the city official arranged a meeting July 30, 2015 between Singh and the head of the agency “in an effort to pressure the Agency to make its proposed settlement terms more favorable” to Singh, according to the court transcript.

DCAS had determined that Singh owed several million dollars in back rent and other fees on his existing lease.

The relationship between Singh and de Blasio was at the center of the twin probes by federal investigators.

Singh at one time sat on three mayoral committees and the advisory board of a city-led philanthropy.

De Blasio’s spokesman denied wrongdoing Wednesday.

“The allegations against this administration were never proven because they are not true,” press secretary Eric Phillips said. “They are old news that’s been widely reported and reviewed extensively by federal prosecutors before they closed their investigation. We make decisions on the merits. Period.”

In March, acting U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim of the Southern District issued a statement declining to prosecute de Blasio, but referencing “several circumstances in which Mayor de Blasio and others acting on his behalf solicited donations from individuals who sought official favors from the City, after which the Mayor made or directed inquiries to relevant City agencies on behalf of those donors.”

A Southern District spokeswoman on Wednesday declined comment.

With Laura Figueroa Hernandez