Ex-Rep. Nangle gets 15 months in prison
Fraud charges rooted in Lowell pol’s gambling addiction
A repentant former state Rep. David Nangle apologized for the gambling addiction that has landed him a 15-month federal prison sentence and two years supervised release.
The Lowell pol, sentenced in federal court in Boston Wednesday, must report Nov. 1 to begin his stint behind bars.
“I’d also like to publicly apologize to my constituents and my beloved city of Lowell,” Nangle said when it was his turn to address the court.
He paused, overcome with emotion, before going on to say that they put their faith and trust in him for 22 years, “and I let them down.”
Federal prosecutors had asked for 18 months in prison, while Nangle’s attorney, Carmine Lepore, had requested one year of home confinement followed by three years of supervised release.
Judge Rya W. Zobel said she understood Nangle’s gambling addiction was at the heart of his illegal acts and that the two dozen or so letters that Nangle’s relatives, friends and constituents provided in support of him persuaded her that he was a kind and caring man who had done good things for people in the community.
“But he did violate our collective norms, and that impacts all of us,” Zobel said. “The sentence should be based on his illegal conduct, not just his goodness and helpfulness to other people.”
One such letter that Lepore had referenced in the proceeding was from Steven Panagiotakos, the former state senator from Lowell for whom Nangle previously worked.
“Your Honor, his actions, which have brought him before you, are serious and he is taking responsibility for them, but they do not define the person that is before you,” Panagiotakos wrote. “They certainly are now a part of that definition, but the good that has been his life for 60 years and the good that he has brought into the lives of countless others over that time, is certainly a much greater part of the person you have before you.”
Nangle offered numerous apologies to the judge, the court, the government, his former legislative colleagues and his family and friends, many of whom were in the courtroom.
Nangle said he takes full responsibility for his actions, and that he was ready to accept whatever sentence the judge imposed upon him and would work to become a better person.
Nangle pleaded guilty to 23 fraud charges this past winter — a year after being arrested at his home by FBI and IRS agents.
After initially pleading not guilty to the charges, Nangle — who once served as the House Ethics Committee chairman — proceeded to run for re-election to the seat he held from 1999 to 2020. But he was swamped in the September Democratic primary by Vanna Howard, who now holds his old seat.
A 21-page indictment details several different methods Nangle allegedly used to cover up his campaign fund abuse, including buying $7,500 worth of gift cards from stores like CVS and Rite Aid that he reported as spending on supplies.