Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña was arraigned on charges of distribution of wiretapped communications and witness intimidation Tuesday morning.
In the Essex County Superior Courtroom in Salem, DePeña pleaded not guilty to the 15 state charges, including allegations he secretly recorded city hall employees and shared that footage.
Those charges are on top of 11 federal counts.
Prosecutors accuse DePeña of misusing more than $1.5M in pandemic small-business loans, allegedly using some of the money for personal expenses and his mayoral campaign.
DePeña has said he won’t resign, arguing the federal case involved business activities that predate his time as mayor.
However, outside of court Tuesday, regarding the state wiretapping charges which do surround his time as mayor, his lawyer, Neil Faigel, said DePeña didn’t have access to the city hall cameras which he said were installed for safety.
“I’m sure you probably all know that the mayor is the mayor. He’s not an IT person. The video [cameras] that were installed in city hall were done by the IT department,” Faigel said. “He did not have passcodes to the videos; he could not access them. That was all left to the IT department.”
These charges and accusations are what has led residents to pursue a formal recall. Sarah Perez is leading that charge and said she dropped off the affidavit needed to get the process started Tuesday morning.
“He doesn’t want to resign. I think he needs to take care of his personal business and handle his legal business and leave the city out of all this mess. We’re definitely suffering,” Perez said.
City councilors are expected to vote on a no-confidence measure Tuesday night.
As for DePeña, he was released on personal recognizance and his next court date is Dec. 9, though his appearance was waived.
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