Harendra Singh, a restaurateur turned government witness who provided key testimony in former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano’s corruption trial, was sentenced Wednesday to four years in prison.
Singh, 64, pleaded guilty in 2016 to federal charges that he bribed Mangano from 2010 to 2015 in exchange for official actions, including securing about $20 million in loans from the Town of Oyster Bay.
Although federal Judge Joan Azrack of the Eastern District of New York said Singh was “a master of pay to play,” she acknowledged that his cooperation had helped to convict Mangano in 2019.
“The extent and nature of his cooperation is possibly unmatched by any defendant in a corruption investigation,” Azrack said, according to The New York Times.
In March 2019, Mangano was found guilty of corruption charges along with his wife, Linda, and was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison a month later. Singh had provided 12 days of testimony that generated almost 2,600 pages, according to court documents.
Mangano, who was the Nassau executive from 2010 through 2017, is currently serving his sentence at a Massachusetts facility.
Linda Mangano, who began her 15-month sentence last year, was transferred from a prison in Connecticut to serve the remainder of her time at home. She was convicted of lying to the FBI during its investigation into Mangano’s corruption.
Mangano’s conviction was based on a deal he made with Singh in which Singh kicked back money and personal benefits in return for the county executive’s pushing the Town of Oyster Bay to authorize loans for Singh, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Singh in turn paid for five vacations, hardwood flooring, a custom office chair, watch and a “no-show” job worth $450,000 for Linda as a marketing director for Singh, prosecutors said.
Singh’s four-year sentence is less than the 14 to 17.5 years prescribed for his crimes, according to federal sentencing guidelines. In asking Azrack for a shorter sentence, federal prosecutors cited the “substantial assistance” Singh provided.
“In imposing a fair and just sentence, the court must weigh the defendant’s assistance against the seriousness of his criminal conduct. Here, Singh’s cooperation facilitated a significant corruption investigation and prosecution,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Catherine Mirabile said on July 12.
