Former TOB Supervisor Venditto cleared of all corruption chargesJury ‘deadlocked’ on verdict for Ed, Linda Mangano
Former Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto was found not guilty of all corruption-related charges against him on Thursday, according to numerous published reports, after a jury deliberated for five days.
The jury remained deadlocked, according to court officials, on the charges against former Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano and his wife, Linda.“I think the jury has spoken, and they came out with the proper verdict,” said Mike Rich, 69, a lifelong Oyster Bay resident. “We try cases in court, not public opinion. I think coverage by [some media] was slanted, especially when they repeated the charges every day. I’m very proud of my town.”
Mangano and Venditto were both facing multiple charges of bribery and corruption, and restaurateur Harendra Singh, who has pleaded guilty to bribing the former officials in exchange for help for his struggling businesses, was the government’s key witness.
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Marc Agnifilo closing statements: Atty Marc Agnifilo addressing jury, Back of Atty Michael Keating, John Venditto, Linda Mangano, Edward ManganoJohn Venditto’s defense
Marc Agnifilo, Venditto’s attorney, attacked Singh’s character. “Harendra Singh is selfish, remarkably self-important, and has grand plans … .” he said. “He’s not happy with where he is. He needs more. He needs to be more — to be somewhere else.”
He portrayed Venditto as “self-contained and happy” — already having all he could want or need. He said even Singh complimented Venditto at one point, calling him “a humble man.”
Agnifilo went on to say, “Singh uses love and closeness to get what he wants, and then he tells us it’s all a lie.”
Agnifilo said Venditto saw Singh as good for Oyster Bay back in 2010. The restaurateur had been a town concessionaire for 10 years, and had made capital improvements to the town buildings that he leased with his own money.
Agnifilo said Venditto didn’t know that Singh was in a corrupt relationship with former deputy town attorney Frederick Mei, who also testified last month in the trial as per a cooperation agreement. Agnifilo said Mei admitted under oath that he forged a document to make it look as though Venditto had signed a loan agreement on Singh’s behalf. Mei also admitted to forging a lease to get an earlier loan for Singh from Habib Bank, without Venditto’s knowledge.
Agnifilo likened Mei and Singh to Bonny and Clyde. “They found each other to commit crimes,” he said.
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| John Venditto not guilty verdict: Jury foreman reading not guilty verdicts, court deputy right, Judge Joan Azrack, foreground l-r US attorneys, Lara Treinis Gatz, RaymondTierney,Middle ground l-r, Atty Marc Agnifilo, John Venditto, Edward Mangano, Linda Mangano |
http://liherald.com/stories/former-tob-supervisor-venditto-cleared-of-all-corruption-charges,103525
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