Former Nassau County Chief Deputy Executive Richard “Rob” Walker pleaded guilty to a single count of obstruction of justice in federal court for the Eastern District of New York on May 29, in a case arising from a federal probe into Nassau County contracts.
In pleading guilty, Walker, 44, a Hicksville Republican who served as former County Executive Ed Mangano’s top lieutenant from 2010 until 2018, admitted that he knowingly accepted $5,000 from an unnamed county contractor at a meeting in South Bend, Ind., in 2014. He further admitted to attempting to persuade the contractor not to disclose the payment to federal investigators after becoming aware of a grand jury investigation into Nassau County contractors in 2017.
The charges stemmed from an invitation to join a county contractor at a football game at the University of Notre Dame, in South Bend. During the course of the trip, Walker accepted the $5,000 payment from the contractor, who was a government informant. After learning of the investigation, Walker attempted on several occasions to convince the contractor to conceal or to lie about the circumstances surrounding the payment. Finally, Walker returned the payment, which was witnessed by federal agents. After the contractor turned the money over to the government, Walker lied to law enforcement agents about having received any payment.
As part of his agreement with federal prosecutors, Walker waived his right to a jury trial, as well as his right to appeal the verdict, only retaining the right to appeal a sentence in excess of federal guidelines. A second charge of making false statements to the F.B.I. was dropped as part of the plea deal. Walker was facing further allegations of obstruction before entering his plea last week.
U.S. Attorney Richard Donoghue indicated to U.S. District Judge Joan Azrack that his office intended to ask for a sentence in excess of the 21 months recommended for a first offense in the manual of Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Those guidelines also call for a fine of from $7,500 to $75,000. Donoghue indicated that his office would ask for a fine of $5,000.