CENTRAL ISLIP, NY (TIP): A federal judge on Wednesday, June 15 set a trial date of Jan. 9 for prominent Long Island restaurateur Harendra Singh, who has been charged with numerous crimes, including bribing a former Oyster Bay deputy town attorney, according to a Newsday report. But Singh’s attorney, Anthony La Pinta, suggested that a trial might not be necessary, telling U.S. District Judge Sandra Feuerstein that there are “ongoing discussions to settle the case … still ongoing.”

La Pinta also said in court that he is preparing a new bail application in the hopes of getting Singh released from jail, because of personal family reasons.

When Singh was arrested in September on a 13-count indictment, six of the counts accused Singh of paying a bribe to a former Oyster Bay deputy town attorney to get an “indirect guarantee” of $32 million in loans for his businesses, including food concessions he ran at town beaches and a town golf course.

Other charges included defrauding the Internal Revenue Service by not reporting millions of dollars in wages paid to employees of his restaurants, and fraudulently collecting almost $1 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. That alleged crime refers to Singh collecting the money for falsely claiming his Water’s Edge restaurant in Long Island City was damaged during superstorm Sandy.

Singh has been held without bail since December when federal prosecutors accused him of violating conditions of his release by fraudulently trying to get a new $148,000 loan.

Meanwhile, the Town of Oyster Bay is in a fix on account of the complex situation arising out of the guarantees for loans to Singh and the future management of the properties leased to Singh who had added a couple of investors to overcome his financial woes. It is learnt that the Town administration is aware of an ongoing investigation in to the role of certain Town officials in the deal with Singh and does not want to burn fingers. Therefore, the top officials are said to be of the view that the properties leased to Singh should not go to anyone connected with Singh in any way, including the investors who are said to be keen to remain involved in the business.