Press Release  AG's Office Announces Indictments Against Lawrence Mayor For Wiretap Statute Violations And Witness Intimidation

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) today announced that the Statewide Grand Jury has returned 15 indictments against Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña on charges related to the use and distribution of surveillance footage at Lawrence City Hall. Mayor DePeña is charged with 14 counts of Distribution of a Wiretapped Communication and one count of Witness Intimidation. His arraignment will be scheduled at a later date. 

The AGO’s investigation revealed that, beginning in 2023, Mayor DePeña requested and installed a security system for his office, separate from the security cameras that were already installed and maintained in City Hall.  

The AGO alleges that in March 2026, a hallway conversation outside of the Mayor’s Office within Lawrence City Hall between two public employees was secretly audio and video recorded by one of Mayor DePeña’s private security cameras, unbeknownst to at least one of the conversation participants. Knowing that this conversation had been both audio and video recorded, Mayor DePeña distributed copies of the recording to 14 individuals. Security cameras owned and operated by the City of Lawrence do not record audio, and there was no public notice that the mayor’s private surveillance system was recording audio. 

The AGO further alleges that, in August 2026, Mayor DePeña committed an additional offense in violation of witness intimidation statute involving a witness in the case.  

All of these charges are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

This matter was prosecuted by Chief Elizabeth Burke and Assistant Attorney General Benjamin Woolf of the AGO’s White Collar and Public Integrity Division, along with Directors Chris Kelly and Paul Melaragni and Digital Evidence Analyst Jillian Tam of the AGO’s Digital Evidence Lab. The Massachusetts State Police and Lawrence Police Department also assisted in the investigation.   

The White Collar and Public Integrity Division investigates and prosecutes serious criminal misconduct involving crimes against public agencies, corrupt public employees and public entities, crimes that have a harmful effect on public confidence in our government and other trusted institutions, and financial crimes.

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