Mayor Bill de Blasio won’t be forced to testify about claims he accepted bribes of campaign cash from a crooked restaurateur, a defense lawyer said Wednesday.
De Blasio had faced the specter of getting subpoenaed to rebut testimony from Harendra Singh, who spent 13 days on the stand as the prosecution’s star witness at the ongoing Long Island corruption trial of former Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano.
“We think that the jury now has an ample basis to reach the conclusion as to the credibility of Mr. Singh and we do not feel the need to impose on the mayor to provide additional evidence that Mr. Singh is unworthy of belief,” said defense lawyer Marc Agnifilo, who represents former Oyster Bay town supervisor and co-defendant John Venditto.
As part of his cooperation deal with the feds, Singh pleaded guilty to bribing de Blasio in exchange for official favors tied to his now-defunct Water’s Edge restaurant in Queens.
Singh also testified that de Blasio encouraged him to make illegal, “straw” donations to his campaign and to de Blasio’s political pals.
The mayor — who wasn’t charged last year following an investigation by Manhattan federal prosecutors — has staunchly denied Singh’s claims.



