NEW YORK (Reuters) - The top elected official in one of the wealthiest U.S. counties, his wife and another local official were indicted on Thursday, charged with corruption, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano, his wife Linda and Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto were arrested in connection with a 13-count federal indictment on charges, including conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and honest services fraud, extortion and making statements.
Prosecutors allege that Mangano and Venditto, "together with others, engaged in a scheme to solicit and receive bribes and kickbacks from Co-conspirator #1" in exchange for performing official actions, including guaranteeing of loans and awarding of contracts.
Co-conspirator No. 1, who was not identified, owned 30 businesses, including restaurants in nearby Queens, New York, and operates food concessions for Nassau County agencies, authorities said.
Linda Mangano was paid $450,000 between 2010 and 2014 for doing little to no work for co-conspirator #1, the prosecutors alleged.
Representatives of the FBI and Nassau County government could not be reached immediately for comment. Mangano's attorney also could not be reached.
Video from WABC television in New York showed the Manganos leaving their home in the Long Island town of Bethpage Thursday morning and entering awaiting vehicles.
"I plan on giving my own press conference. Let's see what they are saying, and I will be happy to respond. That's all I can say right now," Mangano told WABC before he and his wife got into the vehicles.
Mangano, a Republican, is the top elected official in Nassau County, one of the wealthiest counties in the United States, situated just east of New York City on Long Island. It is among the top 50 wealthiest counties in the United States.
The county's finances have been in disarray for years and are subject to a state-operated oversight board.
Prosecutors and the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation are to hold a press conference detailing the charges in the 20-page indictment later Thursday.
Mangano's arrest marks the latest in a string of corruption cases brought by federal prosecutors against local officials on Long Island. Prosecutors recently won convictions against the former chief of police for neighboring Suffolk County and the head of the Suffolk Conservative Party.
(Reporting by Dan Burns and Daniel Bases in New York; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Chizu Nomiyama)
