Jurors ended their fourth day of deliberations Wednesday in the federal corruption case against two former Nassau officials again without reaching a verdict.
The trial against former Nassau Executive Ed Mangano, his wife Linda and former Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto is in its 11th week.
After failing to reach a consensus Tuesday, jurors returned Wednesday around 9:30 a.m. and spent the whole day behind closed doors. Around 2:30 p.m., the jurors asked the judge for another look at some of the evidence and to re-hear some testimony from Harendra Singh, a key witness who has pleaded guilty to bribing the officials and is cooperating with prosecutors.
The jurors wanted specifically the testimony pertaining to meetings with Linda Mangano after the FBI initially interviewed her in the case. The goal of those meetings, Singh testified, was to get their stories straight. The evidence the jurors requested to see includes surveillance videos that shows Singh coming and going from Mangano's home on several occasions.
Prossecutors say they believe the jury is considering whether or not the Manganos obstructed justice. Linda Mangano's defense attorney says he doesn't know what the significance of the jury's request is yet because none of the details of those meetings have been disputed.
Jurors had
sent notes to the judge earlier in the week asking for further instructions and saying they were having trouble reaching a consensus. The judge told them that it is common to have disagreements on charges and to work through them.
With little to do other than wait, Mangano and Venditto stepped outside the courthouse for a spell, talking and smoking cigarettes. They also bided their time in the court cafeteria with family and friends.
Two federal prosecutors on the case killed time by walking laps around the building -- with cellphones in hand in case the judge called with news from the jury.
Deliberations will resume Thursday morning. They ended an hour early Wednesday because one of the jurors had a prior engagement they had to attend.