Closing arguments underway in corruption retrial for Mangano, wife

Closing arguments in the corruption retrial of former Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and his wife, Linda Mangano, were delivered Monday.

News 12 Staff

Feb 25, 2019, 5:08 PM

Updated 1,886 days ago

Share:

Closing arguments underway in corruption retrial for Mangano, wife
Closing arguments in the corruption retrial of former Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and his wife, Linda Mangano, were delivered Monday.
Federal prosecutor Catherine Mirabile told the jury that the evidence shows that all of the gifts, vacations, and the $100,000 a year no-show job for Linda Mangano were offered by ex-restaurant mogul Harendra Singh in exchange for official government action. This includes, she said, county contracts and Ed Mangano's ability to convince the Town of Oyster Bay to back millions in loans for Singh.
"These are not gifts from a friend. These are bribes. It's the quid pro quo. This for that," said Mirabile.
Singh has a cooperation agreement with the government and had pleaded guilty to various financial crimes. In the first trial, many jurors interviewed after Singh's testimony said they were skeptical of it. Newsday reporter Nicole Fuller says that may have prompted Mirabile to focus on other witnesses in her summation, including former county finance workers.
"The prosecution has really sought to emphasize the more credible witnesses," Fuller says. "The ones without cooperation agreements."
Mirabile ending her closing argument by saying,"This is bribery, this is extortion, this is obstruction of justice. Ladies and gentleman, this is corruption. Don't let it stand, don't let it stand."
Ed Mangano's defense attorney, Kevin Keating, fired back during his summation. He focused on Singh, calling him a "morally bankrupt sociopath" who he said enjoyed a corrupt relationship with the Town of Oyster Bay for more than a decade before Mangano was elected county executive. As for the county contracts, Keating said Singh only ever got one from Nassau County, a $225,000 emergency contract to provide food for first responders in the immediate aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.
Mirabile also said Linda Mangano lied to federal officers 11 times with the intention of obstructing justice.
Linda's attorney, John Carman, will be able to deliver a summation Tuesday. Keating must finish his first.


More from News 12