‘SEXT’ POL GOT HOAXED
Mangano cleared
Police investigators found no evidence that Nassau County Executive Ed Mangano exchanged steamy texts with a woman — and instead say he was the victim of a hoax, authorities said Thursday.
The married dad of two had vehemently denied exchanging lurid messages with Karin Caro, a Nassau County marketing executive in the midst of a bruising split with her estranged husband. Caro denied the allegations as well.
“The evidence that I have and the investigation that I did shows that Mr. Mangano and Mrs. Caro did not sext each other,” said Nassau County Detective Sgt. Patrick Ryder said.
“With the evidence I have, the phones were not hacked or spoofed. This document could have been created by anyone with an agenda.”
Ryder said probers vetted several devices and computers belonging to Caro and Mangano and found no record of the purported exchanges.
Ryder said he believes portions of the alleged exchange were cut and pasted from various Web sites.
One message supposedly from Mangano had said, “I’d go crazy not having you,’’ while Caro had allegedly said, “I want you to f k my brains out even if it’s in my car again.’’
The “sexts’’ were first reported by WCBS/Channel 2 earlier this month.
Ryder shot down speculation that Nassau cops were not capable of conducting a fair investigation into Mangano because of his close ties to the department.
He said he personally warned Mangano not to mislead him during the probe.
“If you’re lying to me, I’ll be the guy that puts you into handcuffs,” he recalled telling the Long Island pol.
Ryder noted he sought FBI assistance in an effort to ensure “transparency.”
Critics of the probe noted that neither Mangano nor Caro made sworn statements to police.
Mangano said in a statement Thursday, “As I stated from the moment this matter was brought to my attention, my family and I are the victims of a hoax.”
After the initial accusation, it was revealed Caro had secured several nobid contracts from Mangano worth roughly $50,000.
The Nassau County district attorney is probing those transactions.