January 2018 Trial Date Set For Mangano Corruption Case
CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A judge has set a January 2018 trial date for Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano, his wife and a former town supervisor.
The county executive and Linda Mangano have pleaded not guilty to a 13-count indictment alleging extortion, bribery, fraud and obstruction.
Also charged is John Venditto, who resigned as Oyster Bay town supervisor after his arrest last year. He also has pleaded not guilty.
The indictment says Edward Mangano and Venditto received bribes and kickbacks for assisting in guaranteeing loans to a businessman.
Linda Mangano is charged with accepting a $450,000 no-show job at the businessman's restaurant, and lying to federal investigators.
The Manganos also are charged with accepting vacations and other gifts.
After the hearing, Mangano said the charges against him have not been a distraction when it comes to running the county, WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported.
"This is a big era of the target of the elected official and I think that sometimes people try to put square pegs in round holes," he said.
The trial date was set for next year because Mangano's attorneys said there will be many motions and more than 10,000 pages of documents to look over and they need time to prepare, Hall reported.
Mangano has not said if he will seek re-election this November.
(TM and © Copyright 2017 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)