Former Finance Chair Gallison Pleading Guilty To Federal Fraud Charges [View all]

Ray Gallison, the Bristol Democrat who formerly chaired the powerful House Finance Committee, has agreed to plead guilty to nine federal charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and filing false tax returns, investigators announced Monday.

US Attorney Peter Neronha said the common thread is how Gallison was taking money -- a total of about $660,000 -- from other people, for his own benefit.

"Mr. Gallison was essentially, as alleged, stealing from wherever he could," Neronha said. "Didn’t matter if the person was deceased, it didn’t matter if it was public money that he needed to shift around to meet his purposes, it didn’t matter if it was someone who was disabled and he was the sole trustee."

Gallison, a 16-year lawmaker, abruptly resigned last May in the face of a wide-ranging law enforcement investigation.

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