Ex-Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano can attend resentencing on corruption charges virtually, judge rules

A federal judge will allow former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano to attend his resentencing virtually following a plea by his attorney to not disturb the rehabilitation of the disgraced politician, which includes raising a puppy for a national service dog organization, serving as head chef and performing work outside of the prison camp for his 2019 conviction on corruption charges.

U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack initially denied Mangano’s request, but reconsidered Thursday after his attorney informed her of the work Mangano is doing at the Federal Medical Center at Devens, where has earned special privileges while serving a 12-year-prison sentence.

The former elected official, who has been serving his sentence since 2022, will be resentenced Jan. 15 after an appellate court dismissed two of his felony convictions.

"We are grateful to the court for reconsidering its initial decision and allowing Mr. Mangano to appear virtually for his resentencing," attorney Morris J. Fodeman said in a statement. "We remain hopeful that he will be able to return home much sooner now that the Court of Appeals reversed his bribery convictions."

A Wednesday letter by Fodeman to Azrack stressed the importance of Mangano remaining at the Massachusetts prison, located about 39 miles west of Boston, rather than be transferred to the beleaguered Metropolitan Detention Center in Manhattan before the hearing.

"Requiring Mr. Mangano’s physical appearance would likely result in his spending a significant period (perhaps months) in the MDC or other interim facilities," Fodeman wrote. "As Your Honor is aware, the MDC is chronically understaffed and poses serious safety concerns."

The letter shines new light on Mangano’s life in custody. The man who once held the keys to New York’s second-most populous suburban county is now trusted with the keys of prison vehicles, which he is permitted to drive off campus as part of his work duties.

Mangano has been granted "community custody" at FMC Devens, the letter reveals, a privilege the National Associate of Criminal Defense Lawyers describes as the "lowest custody" in the federal prison system.

"Those under community custody are eligible for least secure housing, including housing outside an institution’s perimeter," the NACDL wrote in a June report. "They are eligible to work outside details with minimal supervision. Finally, they are also eligible to participate in community-based program activities."

While Bureau of Prison officials said Mangano was initially assigned to the larger 1,144-population administrative facility at FMC Devens in 2022, he has since been transferred to the adjacent minimum security satellite camp, where records show he stays with 88 inmates and a future service dog named Yonkers.

Mangano is raising the puppy for the northeast training center of Canine Companions in Medford, where its training will continue before it has the opportunity to graduate and be placed into service. Since its inception at an Oregon prison in 1995, the Canine Companions prison raising program has seen great results, the organization said.

Data shows there’s less than 5% recidivism with inmates who participate in the program and puppies raised in prison programs graduate at a 10% higher rate than those raised in traditional home settings, according to a Canine Companions news release.

Fodeman, in his letter to the judge, cited Mangano’s work with Yonkers as an important part of his "rehabilitation progress." The attorney also said his client works as the head chef at the prison camp, where he prepares meals for the other inmates.

Federal inmates incarcerated at the two facilities at MDC Devens include former acting boss of the Colombo crime family Vittorio "Little Vic" Orena and confessed killer Danny Heinrich, who eluded Minnesota police investigating the 1989 kidnapping of 11-year-old Jacob Wetterling before leading them to the boy’s body decades later. Deceased Long Island mobster John "Sonny" Franzese became the oldest federal inmate while serving at FMC Devens before his release in 2017.

A Central Islip jury convicted Mangano at a 2019 retrial of conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, honest services wire fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice for his role in directing Oyster Bay Town officials to indirectly back what amounted to $20 million in loans for restaurateur and town concessionaire Harendra Singh. Singh was also a longtime friend of Mangano and his wife, Linda.

Singh, who was the government's star witness in the two Mangano trials, was sentenced to 4 years in prison for his role in the scheme. The 67-year-old former restaurateur, who is scheduled to be released from FCI Otisville in April 2027, sought a sentence reduction in May. The records regarding his request are being kept under seal, according to the court.

In February, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed Mangano’s convictions on the federal programs bribery and conspiracy to commit federal programs bribery charges, saying Mangano, an elected county official, was not an "agent" of Oyster Bay.

The appeals court affirmed Mangano’s convictions on the remaining charges.

Eastern District of New York prosecutors have said they plan to ask the court to reimpose Mangano’s original 12-year sentence. John Marzulli, a spokesperson for the Eastern District, declined to comment on the resentencing Thursday.

Prosecutors said Mangano took several bribes in exchange for helping secure the indirect loan guarantees, including a $454,000 "no-show" job for his wife, free meals and vacations, two luxury chairs, hardwood flooring for the couple’s bedroom and a $7,300 wristwatch for one of their sons, according to testimony at trial.

Linda Mangano was convicted of lying to the FBI, conspiring to commit obstruction of justice and obstruction of justice. She served about 5 months of a 15-month sentence in a federal prison camp in Danbury, Connecticut, before she was released to home confinement.

Edward Mangano is scheduled to be released from FMC Devens in December 2031.

By Grant Parpan

grant.parpan@newsday.com@GrantParpan

Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.