Gallison admits to felonies, gets minimum 2 years in federal prison

By Patrick Luce
Posted 1/23/17

Former Rhode Island House Finance Committee Chairman Raymond Gallison will be spending a minimum of two years in federal prison, under a plea agreement announced this morning by the U.S. Attorney's …

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Gallison admits to felonies, gets minimum 2 years in federal prison

Posted

Former state Rep. Raymond Gallison will spend a minimum of two years in federal prison, under a plea agreement the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Monday morning.

U.S. Attorney Peter Neronha said the former state representative from Bristol is being charged with nine felonies, including aggravated identity theft, mail fraud, wire fraud (four counts) and federal tax violations (three counts) for under-reporting his income and assisting with the filing of a false tax document.

Mr. Neronha said the investigation into Gallison's activities revealed "a wide range of fraudulent and deceptive conduct," and that his office will seek more prison time than the two-year mandatory minimum.

The majority of Gallison's offenses were committed in his role as executor to the estate of the late Ray Medley of Barrington. The U.S. attorney said Gallison used Medley's credit card to buy personal items, transferred money into his own personal account, sold items to a Fall River pawn shop, sold a car to a "family member" and kept the money, stole car and home insurance dividend checks, and stole dividends on stocks totaling more than $116,000.

"He went further," Attorney Neronha said, "in some instances scheming to steal the stocks outright, by having the stock certificates transferred to him, in his own name. One thing that strikes me is that Mr. Gallison was stealing from wherever he could." At the time of the theft, the stocks were valued at more than $550,000, the U.S. attorney said.

Aside from Mr. Medley's estate, Mr. Gallison also reportedly claimed that his non-profit organization, Alternative Education Programming, paid more than $77,000 in tuition and fees for 47 students to go to school. In actuality, the non-profit paid $3,137 to educate just two students. The rest went to Mr. Gallison and another, unnamed, person for wages and consulting fees, despite the fact no work had been performed.

In addition to a prison term, Mr. Gallison will be ordered to make full restitution of about $670,000, much of which was recovered when he delivered about $500,000 worth of stocks and bonds he was holding to Warren attorney Tucker Wright, who now represents Mr. Medley's estate. Another $100,000 of restitution will be due at the time of Mr. Gallison's sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled. Payment arrangements will be made for the remaining $60,000.

Much of the money Mr. Gallison stole was slated to be disbursed to a nymber of area non-profit groups, including Warren United Methodist Church, Massasoit Historical Society and area Masonic lodges. The groups have received some of the money Mr. Medley bequeathed to them, and Mr. Wright expects more will be disbursed.

Mr. Neronha said Gallison stole private money, public money, and used deception to "cover his tracks." He said the fact that Mr. Gallison's crimes were committed in his private life, rather than in his capacity as a state representative, makes no difference to his office.

"I don't see a distinction between character in public life and character in private life. It's all the same thing," Mr. Neronha said. "It is at best ironic that mr. Gallison engaged in wide-ranging financial fraud while serving as House Finance Chair. It is naive, and perhaps even foolish, to believe that anyone so willing to engage in repeated criminal conduct could also uphold their oath and serve the people of Rhode Island well."

Rhode Island Attorney General Peter KilMartin, whose office assisted with the investigation, noted that Mr. Gallison is the third former state legislator to be charged with crimes in as many weeks, joining former Reps. John Carnevale, charged with perjury and filing a false document, and Peter Palumbo, charged with embezzlement and filing a false document. It is a pattern of corruption in Rhode Island government that with which both officials expressed frustration.

“Public service was a noble calling, and elected office was viewed as honorable public service,” said Attorney Kilmartin, himself a former legislator. “Unfortunately, that has changed. When I look at the charges brought against three former members of the House of Representatives, it is no wonder the public has such mistrust of the government and elected officials.

“I would like to tell the public that despite these high-profile prosecutions, there are many good people who serve in our government,” he continued. “In fact the vast majority of those working in public service are good people… Yet it seems that a cynical public will point to examples like those of the past two weeks. How many more times will we have to stand together to announce another case of public corruption before all public officials understand that misconduct is not tolerated?”

Attorney Neronha said that although Gallison accepted a minimum two-year sentence for the identity theft charge, his office will be seeking a longer sentence from a federal judge on the other charges, to run consecutively to the two-year minimum. It is a necessary message to send, he said.

“He was the finance chairman; if that doesn’t send up red flags, I don’t know what will. It shouldn’t be that difficult to act with character. It shouldn’t be that hard to uphold their oath,” Mr. Neronha said of Gallison and all disgraced public servants. “I’ve been here seven years and we’ve been back over and over again doing this. Yeah, it’s a little frustrating.”

Rep. Ray Gallison, RI General Assembly

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