Mangano was born on January 14, 1930, in
Brooklyn, New York City, the son of Assemblyman
James V. Mangano (1905–1988) and Rose (Mancaruso) Mangano. He attended the public schools in Brooklyn, Poly Preparatory School,
Carson-Long Military Academy and
Fordham University. He graduated from
St. John's University School of Law in 1955. He entered politics as a
Democrat and became investigator and counsel to legislative committees. He was a member of the
New York State Assembly (
Kings Co., 8th D.) from 1959 to 1962, sitting in the
172nd and
173rd New York State Legislatures; and a member of the
New York State Senate from 1963 to 1965, sitting in the
174th and
175th New York State Legislatures. In November 1965, after re-apportionment, he was re-elected in the 24th district to the State Senate, but he did not take his seat in the
176th New York State Legislature because he was appointed by Mayor
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. to the
New York City Family Court in December 1965. In November 1968, Mangano was elected to the
New York Supreme Court. In January 1979, he was designated to the
Appellate Division and was appointed Presiding Justice of the 2nd Department in March 1990. He retired from the bench at the end of 2000 when he reached the constitutional age limit. In 2001, he began to work for
JAMS, a mediation and arbitration firm. On June 19, 2025, Mangano died at the age of 95. ==Sources==