“In the federal courthouse behind me, a short time ago, former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano was sentenced by the Court to 12 years in prison, and his wife, Linda Mangano, to 15 months in prison.
Nearly two years ago, a federal jury found Edward Mangano guilty of conspiracy to obstruct justice and multiple counts of taking bribes and kickbacks from a businessman in exchange for pressuring local officials to guarantee the businessman’s loans. Linda Mangano was found guilty of obstructing the investigation by lying to the FBI about getting a lucrative “no show” job from that businessman, which was a bribe to her husband.
Edward Mangano’s blatant acts of corruption, and the defendants’ concerted efforts to obstruct a federal grand jury investigation, display a stunning abuse of power. The defendants’ conduct is an affront to our system of government and, quite frankly, a betrayal to the people of Nassau County, especially the residents of the Town of Oyster Bay.
From the moment he was elected, Edward Mangano sold himself and his office. He cashed in the power, the resources, and the influence of his office to enrich himself and his wife. For Ed Mangano, public service was self-service. He received bribes in the form of vacations, an expensive watch, furniture and hardwood flooring for his house. And, most notably, a $100,000-a-year no-show job for his wife, Linda Mangano.
Simply put, Edward Mangano is going to jail for brazenly abusing the power of his office as the top elected official of Nassau County. He is going to jail for betraying not only the people who elected him, but every resident of Nassau County who believes that government is supposed to do good, make our lives better and serve our communities honestly and without public officials lining their pockets with taxpayers’ hard-earned money.
To this day, neither defendant has shown a trace of remorse for their crimes and maintain they did nothing wrong. Their lack of shame is remarkable.
Edward and Linda Mangano’s flagrant disregard for the law has left them convicted felons and headed for prison. Today’s sentence demonstrates that corruption and obstruction will not be tolerated.
I stand here together with the outstanding prosecutors from my Office and the exceptional FBI agents who successfully brought the Manganos to justice, with a very important message. I want to assure the public that their faith in government and our criminal justice system is not misplaced. The disgraceful and greedy conduct of the Manganos has been exposed and punished.
And the same fate awaits those in public service who abuse their positions to serve themselves and not the people. Officials who choose to deprive the people of the honest services they deserve will find themselves in a courtroom learning that there is a serious price to pay for their corruption. No one is above the law.
I will conclude my remarks on a positive note, praising the prosecutors and FBI agents I mentioned moments ago. I want to commend Assistant United States Attorneys Catherine Mirabile, Christopher Caffarone and former Eastern District Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Treinis Gatz for their tireless, tenacious and terrific work on the case. I also thank Paralegal Specialist Samantha Schroder and Legal Assistant Kerry Ucci. They were ably assisted in the pursuit of justice by FBI Special Agents Laura Spence, Frank Lomonaco and William Sena and Forensic Analyst William Del Gais.”