Updated 2:55 p.m.
A longtime eastern Massachusetts state representative has been arrested and charged with using thousands of dollars in campaign cash to fund personal expenses and sustain his gambling habit, federal officials announced Tuesday.
David Nangle, a Democrat who represents parts of Chelmsford and Lowell, faces charges including wire and bank fraud, according to the indictment (PDF).
Nangle pleaded not guilty to all charges in federal court in Boston Tuesday afternoon. He was released on $25,000 bond with several conditions.
Nangle is a division chair in House Speaker Robert DeLeo's leadership team. He has served in the Massachusetts House since 1999, and is a member of the House Committee on Ethics.
Last month, The Sun of Lowell reported that Nangle's campaign finance reports showed an $8,700 payment to Boston law firm Donnelly, Conroy & Gelhaar, LLP, and that Nangle, when asked if he was under any state or federal investigation, said he "knew nothing about it."
Authorities say in court documents that Nangle was an extensive gambler who used campaign funds to cover golf club dues, rental cars to get to and from casinos, and flowers for his girlfriend, among other things.
Rep. David Nangle faces 10 counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud, nine counts of making false statements to a bank and five counts of filing false tax returns. The FBI began investing him in Nov. 2017. #mapoli
— Katie Lannan (@katielannan) February 18, 2020
MA State Rep. David Nangle leaving Federal Court today after being charged 28 counts including wire & bank fraud, making false statements and filing false tax returns. #mapoli #boston25 pic.twitter.com/Br8Mwy3Lom
— Adam Liberatore (@bostonTVguy) February 18, 2020
Nangle also allegedly used campaign funds to pay for hotel and restaurant charges, for which he was already being reimbursed by the state, officials say. He owed tens of thousands of dollars in debt to various restaurant owners and then spent thousands of dollars of campaign cash on meals at the owners' restaurants "as a means of appeasing his lenders," officials wrote in the indictment.
Nangle then filed false campaign finance reports to hide his inappropriate spending, authorities said. He is also accusing of lying to a bank to obtain loans and filing false tax returns.
"Dave Nangle is a good man who has proudly represented his district as a State Representative," said his attorney William Connolly "The charges against David are nothing more than allegations. We will fight these charges in court."
This report includes information from State House News Service, WBUR and the Associated Press.