Lally and Gambling Addiction

Defense attacks witness in Mass. corruption trial

Lally acknowledged having forged checks from a previous employer in the 1990s and admitted that he had once tried to avoid paying Massachusetts sales taxes on a boat by saying it would be moored in Rhode Island.

Lally also readily conceded his gambling habit, acknowledging that he had lost huge sums of money betting on sports and at casinos. But he also had successes, testifying that he made $275,000 in 2 1/2 hours at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut.

Asked why he had failed to include a $70,000 line of credit in an application for government assistance in paying his legal bills, Lally said he was "embarrassed" because he had borrowed the money to pay off a debt to a Las Vegas casino.