PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Former House Speaker Gordon Fox has agreed to plead guilty to charges of bribery, wire fraud and filing a false tax return following an investigation that included a dramatic federal raid on the Statehouse, according to court documents unsealed Tuesday.
The details from the documents bring an end to nearly a year of speculation about what the FBI, Internal Revenue Service and state police were investigating when they raided Fox’s home and Statehouse office March 21, 2014.
A change-of-plea hearing is scheduled for noon in U.S. District Court in Providence.
Fox is accused of receiving $52,500 in cash and checks in 2008 to help grant a liquor license to a bar near Brown University when he served as vice chairman of the board of licenses for the city of Providence. He’s also accused of making about 28 interbank transfers totaling $108,000, taking the money from his campaign account and using it to pay for personal expenses.
The government is recommending a three-year prison sentence.