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Ex-House Ethics Committee Chairman Admits To Spending Campaign Money On Lavish Lifestyle

A heavily in-debt ex-Massachusetts state representative, who once served as chairman of the House Ethics Committee, has admitted to funding his lavish lifestyle with public money and fraudulent bank loans.

David M. Nangle

David M. Nangle

Photo Credit: mass.gov

On Wednesday, Feb. 24, former state representative David M. Nangle, 60, pleaded guilty in U.S. Senior District Court to 10 counts of wire fraud, 4 counts of bank fraud, 4 counts of making false statements to a bank, and 5 counts of filing false tax returns, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Massachusetts said.

Nangle, a Democrat, represented Massachusetts’ 17th Middlesex District, which includes the communities of Lowell, Dracut, and Chelmsford from 1999-2020. Nangle was arrested on these charges in February.

Items that Nangle spent the stolen money on include golf club dues, casino trips, flowers for his girlfriend, hotels, and restaurants.

According to court documents, Nangle was deeply in debt from gambling losses around the same time he was stealing public funds and scamming banks.

Nangle spent thousands of dollars on himself via his campaign committee’s debit card, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

In addition from at least 2015 to 2018, Nangle devised a scheme to get bank loans by making false statements on multiple loan applications.

Nangle filed false tax returns to cover his tracks. Nangle’s 2014-2018 tax returns show numerous instances where Nangle reported business deductions for purported “consulting” work that he did for a company. Nangle also double-dipped on deductible expenses arising from his work as a state legislator, falsely claiming thousands of dollars in deductions for charitable donations that he never made, the U.S. ATtorney’s Office said.

Nangle also concealed from the IRS income that he got via goods and services - like the kitchen and bathroom renovations he had done at his home, as well as gambling income from a Connecticut casino, and thousands that he had stolen from his campaign account.

Nangle’s sentencing has been scheduled for June 24. He is facing up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud and up to 30 years in prison and $1 million fine for bank fraud.

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