Lawyers for former Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano have asked a judge to dismiss all corruption charges, saying that federal prosecutors repeatedly suppressed evidence and allowed a key witness to lie under oath.
In a 200-page motion, Mangano’s attorney wrote that the government knowingly concealed a witness who contradicted their case and withheld thousands of wiretaps. The motion details how a bread and roll contract with the county jail began organically and not at Mangano’s urging. The motion says federal prosecutors knew this even while arguing the opposite in court.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.
Last year Mangano and his wife were accused of accepting bribes in exchange for arranging loans and contracts to a Long Island restaurateur. That restaurateur later pleaded guilty to bribing Mangano and then testified against him. After 12 weeks the case ended in a mistrial.
A new trial was supposed to begin next month. However, the judge gave the government until December 31 to respond to Mangano’s motion before making a decision on how to proceed.
