SALEM, MASS. (WHDH) - Embattled Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña appeared in court Tuesday, for the second time in two months, to face more than a dozen state charges.
DePeña pleaded not guilty before a judge to 14 counts of Distribution of a Wiretapped Communication and one count of Witness Intimidation. He is accused of secretly recording employees at Lawrence City Hall and distributing the recording.
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (AGO) said that beginning in 2023, DePeña requested and installed a security system for his office, separate from the security cameras that had previously been installed inside Lawrence City Hall.
In March 2026, a conversation between two employees in a hallway outside of DePeña’s office was secretly audio and video recorded by one of the mayor’s private security cameras, unbeknownst to at least one of the conversation participants. DePeña then distributed copies of the recording to 14 people, the AGO said.
In August 2026, the AGO said DePeña also violated the witness intimidation statute involving a witness in the case.
“No way, shape, or form did the mayor have any knowledge 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’s Defense Attorney Neil Faigel said outside court Tuesday.
In addition to the 15 state charges, DePeña is also facing federal indictments for pandemic loan fraud and money laundering.
The Lawrence City Council is also set to vote on a no-confidence measure against DePeña Tuesday. The vote was initially supposed to be last week, but the council delayed it.
DePeña said he refuses to resign as mayor.
DePeña was released Tuesday on personal recognizance. He had previously surrended his passport to federal prosecutors. He is due back in court in the state case in December.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)