Massachusetts Democrat using re-election fund to pay gambling debts arrested

David Nangle, Massachusetts State Representative, allegedly looted his re-election fund to pay gambling debts and other personal expenses, totalling hundreds of thousands of donor dollars despite running unopposed since 2013.

As per the 28-count arraignment filed last week in Massachusetts District Court Nangle (D-Lowell) used his surplus campaign war chest to cover personal expenses including hotels, restaurants, golf club fees, and mounting gambling debts, concealing his casino winnings and losses as well as his other financial wrongdoing from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and campaign finance authorities.

Nangle was arrested on Tuesday; he has served in the state House since 1999.

The indictment states he used the campaign funds “as his own personal checking account.” He apparently spent the money on restaurants, country club memberships, gas, and hotels – many of which he was already reimbursed for – when he wasn’t gambling it away, defrauding deceived donors who thought they were contributing to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance along with his political future.

Prosecutors claim – not only did Nangle “fraudulently describe the purpose of such spending as political in nature” in documentation filed with campaign finance authorities, he allegedly even paid someone to go to the casino to pick up his winnings to hide his name from IRS disclosure forms.

He reportedly gambled all over New England, hitting casinos in Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island as well as his home state of Massachusetts. Specifically, Nangle is charged with 10 counts of wire fraud, plus a few related charges including filing false tax returns and making false statements to a bank.

Ironically, Nangle serves not just on the state’s Ethics Committee, but also both the House and Joint Rules Committees, entrusted with leadership responsibilities making him an additional $37,500 per year on top his $60,000 salary.

As per the indictment, this was not even close to cover the tens of thousands of dollars he was losing gambling in online casinos. His financial fraud extended to submitting forged invoices for non-existent vendors, funnelling money to friends of relatives to pay off personal loans, and obtaining a home loan on fraudulent terms from a local bank. If convicted, Nangle could be forced to forfeit his house.

US Attorney Andrew Lelling told reporters on Tuesday, “This was not a momentary loss of judgment or a technical foul – this was a systematic pattern of theft and fraud going back to at least 2014.”