SALEM, Mass. — The mayor of Lawrence appeared in Essex Superior Court Tuesday, facing several counts of wiretapping and witness intimidation charges.
According to the indictment, Mayor Brian DePeña allegedly secretly recorded a conversation between two city employees on a private camera in his office in March and shared the recording with 14 people.
DePeña is also facing 11 counts of pandemic loan fraud. He is accused of obtaining a $1.5 million small business loan for his tire sales business, Tenares Tire, and using the money for high-interest mortgages on various businesses and his mayoral campaign fund.
“He’s been on city council since 2016, he’s been a two-term mayor, he’s done wonderful things for the city of Lawrence, in no way shape or form do the allegations that were brought forward today have any ramifications on the workings of the city of Lawrence,” his attorney said outside court.
“The mayor is the mayor, he’s not an IT person, videos that were installed in city hall were done by the IT department because of problems with security and perceptions about poor security in city hall. In no way shape or form did the mayor have any knowledge as to how the videos worked, he did not have passcodes to the videos, and he could not access them. That was all left to the IT department.”
DePeña pleaded not guilty in Essex Superior Court and was released on personal recognizance. He’ll be back in court in December.
Just recently, DePeña told residents he had no plans of resigning from his position.
“I remain committed to serving the people of Lawrence, working with our City employees, and carrying out the responsibilities of the office to which I was elected,” he said in a statement.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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