CENTRAL ISLIP, NY(TIP): Harendra Singh, the key witness in the federal corruption trial of Nassau County’s former executive and Oyster Bay’s former town supervisor, has filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy in U.S. Eastern District Court in Central Islip.

Court records show that Singh, also a former Town of Oyster Bay concessionaire, filed for bankruptcy protection on April 20.

Singh, 59, of Laurel Hollow, asked in the voluntary bankruptcy filing to make installment payments on the filing fees. The fee for filing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is $310, according to the website for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District.

Singh’s bankruptcy petition, filed without an attorney, listed two creditors, CIT Bank, N.A. of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and LoanCare LLC, a mortgage servicer based in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

CIT Bank sued Singh in August 2016 in New York State Supreme Court in Mineola alleging he had stopped making mortgage payments on his Laurel Hollow home beginning Oct. 1, 2014 and owed $2.5 million plus interest. On July 20, 2017, New York State Judge Thomas Adams granted summary judgment in favor of the bank. On Jan. 9, Adams ordered the property foreclosed and to be put up for sale and awarded CIT Bank $2.9 million plus interest and fees.

Under a Chapter 13 bankruptcy, the debtor seeks a payment plan to repay his or her debts.

In October 2016, Singh pleaded guilty to bribing former Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano and former Oyster Bay Town Supervisor John Venditto. Mangano, his wife, Linda, and Venditto are currently on trial in federal court in Central Islip. They have pleaded not guilty.

(Source: Newsday)