From projo.com:

State Sen. Christopher B. Maselli has been indicted on federal charges that he falsified his bank and federal tax documents to get mortgages and an auto loan worth a total of more than $1.5 million.

The federal case came down Thursday, just a few months after the Johnston Democrat sponsored legislation to let the Senate police itself on ethical issues, rather than have oversight by the Rhode Island Ethics Commission. After Maselli’s indictment on seven counts of bank fraud, Common Cause Rhode Island pushed Friday to have the General Assembly reconvene and pass legislation to let voters decide whether to expand the Ethics Commission’s jurisdiction.

Maselli, a self-employed real estate lawyer, is accused of inflating his annual income dating to 2005, and of submitting phony and altered bank statements and IRS tax returns when applying for mortgages, a home-improvement loan and a loan to buy a 2005 Lexus SUV.

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