To hear the FBI talk, former Dunkirk Mayor Richard L. Frey owes a substantial amount of credit card debt.

Even more important, perhaps, Frey’s debt stems from cash withdrawals at an ATM in a nearby casino, investigators say.

Frey’s personal finances are detailed in a federal indictment accusing him of cashing in campaign contributions from local businesspeople and using them for personal benefit.

The contributions range from a low of $500 to a high of $2,000, and they total $14,500.

Unsealed Tuesday, the grand jury indictment charges the former mayor with 12 counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement to the FBI. If convicted, Frey could face up to 20 years in prison.

“He got rich from his office,” said U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. “He told the victims he was collecting for his political campaigns when, in fact, he was pocketing the money.”

Frey, 83, who served as mayor for 10 years, is accused of devising a scheme in which he solicited and received campaign contributions that he used for his personal benefit or deposited in his bank accounts. The indictment also alleges that Frey tried to hide the campaign contributions by not listing them on his financial-disclosure reports...