PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A former head of the police union in Newport has agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud for misusing tens of thousands of dollars of union money on himself.
In papers filed with U.S. District Court in Providence on Monday, Christopher Hayes agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud.
Prosecutors say he took more than $70,000 during the time he was the president of the Fraternal Order of Police in Newport.
The Newport Daily News reported in 2015 that the union hired an auditor to look at its finances because some officers alleged there had been more than $100,000 in unauthorized and unexplained expenses over a five-year period.
WPRI-TV reports that Hayes retired around the time that allegations surfaced.
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