Lawrence mayor pleads not guilty to state wiretapping charges

Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña pleaded not guilty to state charges Tuesday as prosecutors allege he shared an illegally recorded conversation between two city staffers, then sought to demote a police captain who investigated the incident.

DePeña, 61, was indicted last month on 14 counts of distributing a wiretapped communication and one count of witness intimidation, with Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s office spearheading the prosecution. The two-term Democrat is also fighting unrelated federal charges over alleged pandemic loan fraud. 

DePeña answered the state charges Tuesday in Essex Superior Court, where he pleaded not guilty and was released on personal recognizance, records show. His attorney, Neil Faigel, did not respond to a request for comment. 

Prosecutors say DePeña requested private security cameras for his office at Lawrence City Hall, separate from the city’s existing surveillance system. The information technology department installed the cameras in the fall of 2023 and disabled their audio recording feature, prosecutors alleged in a statement of facts. 

In March, however, the security cameras allegedly picked up audio of a “contentious” conversation between William Castro, DePeña’s then-chief of staff, and Francisco Ureña, the manager of Lawrence Municipal Airport. Ureña purportedly didn’t know he was being taped, and prosecutors say DePeña later circulated the recording to 14 people, including local radio hosts, political allies, staff members, and several Lawrence City Council members.

“He gave permission to at least one of the recipients to post the video on social media, where it was viewed by numerous members of the Lawrence community,” prosecutors alleged. 

Once authorities began looking into the recording, prosecutors allege DePeña attempted to “retaliate” against Harold Rogers, a Lawrence police captain involved in the investigation. According to the statement of facts, DePeña demanded that Rogers be moved from his position as supervisor of the department’s Bureau of Investigations and shifted instead to a lower-paying administrative role. 

DePeña is due back in court on the state charges Dec. 9.

Speaking to reporters outside the courthouse Tuesday, Faigel — DePeña’s attorney — said the mayor could not access the surveillance videos and did not have the passcode necessary to view them, according to The Boston Globe. 

“I’m sure you all probably know that the mayor is the mayor, he is not an IT person,” Faigel reportedly added, telling reporters the state-level allegations against DePeña “in no way, shape, or form … have any ramifications on the workings of the city.”

DePeña has refused to resign amid his twin legal battles, even as the Lawrence City Council mulls a potential vote of no-confidence in his ability to lead. 

“I was elected to serve the people of this City, and I intend to continue fulfilling the responsibilities entrusted to me and serving the remainder of my term in office,” DePeña wrote in a public letter last month. 

“I respect the judicial process and the principle that every person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law,” he said. “I am prepared to address these allegations through the proper legal process and to vigorously defend myself against the charges.”

Abby Patkin is a general assignment news reporter whose work touches on public transit, crime, health, and everything in between. She has been covering the Lindsay Clancy murder case since January 2023.