Ex-Rep. David Nangle sentenced to 15 months in federal prison on corruption charges

BOSTON — From 2014 to 2018, former Lowell state Rep. David Nangle received $27,000 and other benefits from a Billerica business owner in exchange for shepherding legislation that provided millions of dollars in tax credits for developers seeking to develop property in Boston’s Seaport district.

On Wednesday afternoon, the former House Ethics Committee chairman was in that same Seaport district at The John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse, where he was sentenced to 15 months in prison on federal corruption charges related to these and numerous other fraudulent activities he undertook while in office.

Judge Rya Zobel also ordered Nangle to forfeit $15,650 in connection with his crimes, as well as pay $33,347 in restitution to the IRS. Nangle will also serve two years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

Federal prosecutors had sought 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release, while Nangle’s attorney, Carmine Lepore, had requested one year of home confinement followed by three years of supervised release.

An emotional 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.

Some of them began to cry when he apologized for the “pain, embarrassment and shame” he’d brought to them, saying it was “something I’ll deal with and live with for the rest of my life.”

“I’d also like to publicly apologize to my constituents and my beloved city of Lowell,” Nangle said, noting that they put their faith and trust in him for 22 years, “and I let them down.”

He said his office used to take pride in helping all constituents who reached out for assistance, no matter the issue.

“The truth of matter was, I needed help, and I realize that now,” Nangle said, adding that he wants to become a better person and hopes to help prevent others from going down the same road.

Nangle, who served as state representative for the 17th Middlesex District for 11 terms until he was unseated by Vanna Howard in last year’s Democratic primary, was indicted in February 2020 on 28 federal corruption charges.

On Feb. 24 this year, he pleaded guilty to 10 counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud, four counts of making false statements to a bank and five counts of filing false tax returns. His original charges included an additional five counts of making false statements to a bank, but the charges were consolidated as part of a plea agreement.

At the sentencing, Lepore painted a picture of a man who’d lived the vast majority of his life doing good for his constituents and the community, only to be undone by a gambling addiction.

“I can tell you David Nangle has suffered, already, substantially,” Lepore said. “He lost the job that was his life. He lost the respect of people he cares about. He’s taken a blow to his integrity — all of which he wants to work to have repaired and have everyone understand why he’s in the position he’s in.”

Despite his actions, Lepore said many of Nangle’s relatives, friends and constituents came forward to write letters of support and to demonstrate evidence of his good character.

One such letter 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.”

But according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Chao, Nangle lied over and over to all of these people, stealing the money that hardworking Lowellians donated to his campaign and even placing blame on some of his family members as excuses for his bad credit.

“While Mr. Nangle was getting tremendous kindness, affection and support from these good people, he was lying to them,” Chao said. “He was stealing from them and he was cheating time and time again.”

Chao said one of the worst byproducts of addiction is impulsive behavior that can lead to criminal activities. However, the federal investigation into Nangle showed that his illegal actions — including obstructing the grand jury investigation by drafting a phony consulting contract to explain the payments from the Billerica business owner and coordinating cash payments through strawmen — were not products of impulsive behavior, Chao said.

“They were methodical, calculated and achieved with concentrated planning,” Chao said.

Zobel said she understood Nangle’s gambling addiction was at the heart of his illegal acts and that the 27 letters in support of Nangle 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.”

The 15-month sentence she chose for Nangle was the low end of the 15- to 21-month sentencing guidelines as calculated by the U.S. Probation Office based on his total offense level and criminal history.

Nangle is to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons before noon on Nov. 1 to begin his sentence. A court clerk said it would take about six weeks to designate the prison where he will serve his sentence.

Nangle was given the option to wait until after Thanksgiving or Christmas, but decided he wanted to begin at the earliest possible date.

The defense requested Nangle serve his sentence at the federal prison in Devens, which Zobel said she would recommend but could not guarantee.

Zobel also placed a number of conditions on Nangle, prohibiting him from frequenting gambling establishments, participating in gambling activities in any form or engaging in any occupation requiring handling of funds belonging to another, and ordered him to attend a gambling-specific treatment program.

Several of Nangle’s friends and family members declined to comment when approached by a reporter outside the courtroom.