Massachusetts Rep. Chris Flanagan of Dennis Port was arrested Friday morning on prices that he stole tens of hundreds of {dollars} from a commerce affiliation he labored for, coated up the thefts, after which used the cash to pay private payments and fund his marketing campaign for elected workplace.
Federal prosecutors indicted Flanagan, a Democrat who gained a second time period to his put up in November, on 5 counts of wire fraud and one depend of falsification of data. He’s scheduled to look in federal court docket in Boston at 2:30 p.m.
U.S. Lawyer for Massachusetts Leah Foley mentioned the costs towards Flanagan reveal an “appalling breach of public trust.”
“According to the indictment, Mr. Flanagan defrauded the very organization he was supposed to serve – allegedly funneling tens of thousands of dollars into his own pockets to pay off personal bills, buy luxury items and bankroll his political campaign,” Foley mentioned in an announcement. “He allegedly stole money and then went to extraordinary lengths to cover it up, going so far as fabricating fake personas to mislead those who questioned his conduct.”
Flanagan’s legal professional, Greg Henning, mentioned he was nonetheless gathering details about the arrest and indictment when reached by cellphone Friday morning.
A spokesperson for Home Speaker Ron Mariano didn’t instantly present a touch upon the arrest and indictment.
The existence of a federal investigation into Flanagan surfaced earlier this 12 months after the Barnstable Police Division mentioned that they had acquired a report of alleged “potential criminal activity” involving Flanagan and his marketing campaign in October 2024.
“In December of 2024, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts adopted the investigation,” the Barnstable Police Division mentioned in a January assertion. “Any and all questions regarding this investigation should be directed to the United States Attorney’s Office in Boston.”
The second-term Democrat was earlier the topic of an investigation by Cape Cod police into allegations of felony larceny over $1,200 after his former employer, the Dwelling Builders and Remodelers Affiliation of Cape Cod, filed a police report accusing him of “potential fraudulent use of a business account.”
The federal prices filed Friday accuse Flanagan of stealing a complete of $36,000 from the affiliation’s checking account by way of wire transfers.
“Flanagan allegedly used the majority of the stolen funds to pay personal mortgage bills, to pay down thousands of dollars in credit card debt and to make other personal expenditures,” federal prosecutors mentioned in an announcement. “In one instance, in January 2023, Flanagan allegedly stole $10,000 from HBA in order to fund his campaign account for state representative.”
Massachusetts Republicans referred to as on Flanagan to resign from his place shortly after the federal investigation grew to become public.
It is a creating story…
Initially Printed:
