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Rob Walker, 43, a former chief deputy to Mangano, pleaded guilty in federal court in Central Islip on Wednesday, May 29, to one count of obstruction of justice. He is expected to receive less than two years in prison.
In court, Walker admitted to meeting with an informant working with the government and asked him not to disclose a $5,000 payment that he received in 2014.
Walker, a Hicksville resident, accepted the cash from a contractor who was performing work for the county. He later attempted to conceal that payment from a grand jury when he discovered that federal investigators were on his tail.
According to U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue, in 2017, after learning that the United States Attorney’s Office had opened a grand jury investigation into potential corruption in Nassau County government.
The probe ncluded the circumstances surrounding the $5,000 payment, Walker spoke to the contractor on several occasions, and attempted to persuade him to conceal the existence of the payment from the grand jury, and to provide a false explanation concerning the transaction, for example, as repayment of a loan.
Walker then met the contractor in a Hicksville park and handed him an envelope containing $5,000 in cash.
A former member of the New York State Assembly, Walker will face up to 20 years in person when he is sentenced later this year, though he is expected to receive a much less harsh sentence.
“While holding public office, Walker attempted to conceal his corrupt conduct by urging a witness to lie to the grand jury,” Donoghue said. “Those who swear an oath to serve the public are expected to promote transparency, not obstruct justice. The Eastern District will hold officials accountable when they violate the public trust.”
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