Massachusetts-Licensed Lawyer Admits To Providence Feds That He Stole From A Dead Friend, The Poor & A Disabled Client; Prosecutor: Defendant Pocketed Over $685K In Ill-Gotten Gains, Then Failed To Pay Over $225K In Income Taxes On Pilfered Loot

In Providence, Rhode Island, WJAR-TV Channel 10 reports:

• On Monday [January 23] morning, in a room full of police officers, attorneys, and feds, US Attorney Peter Neronha laid out nine felony counts facing former Bristol Rep. Raymond Gallison Jr., who admitted in a plea deal that he’s guilty of mail and wire fraud, identity theft and filing bogus taxes.(1)
  
  “He lied and he stole, in a variety of ways and from a variety of people,” said Neronha.
  
  Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin was present for the announcement, now his third former colleague at the state house to be charged or admit to crimes in the last 11 days.
  
  “Ray Gallison was greedy, pure and simple,” Kilmartin said. “He stole from his clients, people who considered him a trusted attorney and trusted friend.”
  
  One those victims was Ray Medley, a Barrington bachelor, who died in 2012.
  
  Gallison was executor of his estate and was instructed by a will to give Medley's money to charities. Instead, investigators said Gallison schemed to steal and transfer bank accounts, cash, checks, stocks and property into his own control, about $677,957.
  
  ***
  Before resigning in May as House finance chair, Gallison received a salary from the non-profit, Alternative Educational Programming, or AEP, along with state grant money. Investigators said he grossly over-stated how many students the group helped financially. One example said AEP helped pay over $77,000 in tuition and fees on behalf of 47 students, when in reality, AEP paid a little over $3,000 to help two students, according to Neronha.
  
  Separately, as a trustee for a disabled person, Gallison stole money from a special needs trust to pay a bill for AEP. [$8,900, according to the U.S. Attorney press release].

For the story, see Gallison agrees to plead guilty to federal fraud charges.

See also, Fmr. RI House Finance Chairman to Plead Guilty to Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft, Tax Charges:

• He failed to claim a total of $622,286.17 in income on joint IRS tax returns for tax years 2012 and 2013, and, as a result of his relevant conduct from 2012-2015, Gallison failed to pay a total of $226,332.31 in taxes.

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(1) According to this story, Gallison is an attorney licensed in Massachusetts.