Former Mangano Chief Deputy Lied To FBI, Obstructed Justice: Feds

The former chief deputy of former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano was indicted on Thursday for charges related to attempting to cover up receiving a bribe and lying about it to federal officials, according to the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

Richard "Rob" Walker, 43, of Hicksville, was charged with obstruction of justice and making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

“As alleged, Rob Walker, while serving as a public official, accepted money from a contractor who was performing work for Nassau County," FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr., said in a press release. "When he found out the FBI was hot on his trail, he tried to cover up his corrupt behavior, even going so far as to attempt to convince the contractor to lie to a grand jury."

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, in October 2014, a Nassau County contractor invited Walker to attend a University of Notre Dame football game in South Bend, Indiana, and gave Walker $5,000 in cash.

Prosecutors say Walker tried to convince the contractor to lie to a grand jury about the payment in 2017 when he learned that the U.S. Attorney and the FBI were investigating corruption in the county.

Walker arranged to meet the contractor in a park in Hicksville to return the money after the grand jury hearing, officials say. The FBI was watching the meeting and allegedly saw Walker give the contractor an envelope with $5,000 inside, which was turned over to investigators.

Walker also lied about receiving money from the contractor when interviewed by the FBI about the payment, prosecutors say.

The charges against Walker are separate from the public corruption charges that have been brought against Mangano, the former Nassau County Executive, and former Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor John Venditto.

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