Joyce office raid leaves more questions than answers

Joyce will not seek reelection

Downtown Canton was the scene of considerable curiosity last week when federal agents descended on the private law practice of state Senator Brian A. Joyce, removing dozens of boxes from his Washington Street firm over a period of several hours on Wednesday, February 17.

The surprise raid, which began in the early afternoon, created quite the spectacle in the downtown area and sent news crews racing to Canton. However, despite widespread speculation in the days since and even some calls for the embattled Milton Democrat to resign, the nature and scope of the investigation remain largely a mystery more than a week later.

Reached on Monday, a spokesperson in the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston office offered no comment other than to confirm an FBI spokesperson’s initial statement that the raid was part of an “ongoing investigation” by the FBI and IRS.

A spokesperson for the senator also declined comment, indicating in an email to the Citizen that Joyce is “not doing any interviews” at this time. However, Joyce’s attorney, Howard Cooper, vigorously defended his client in a statement released last week.

“It is unfortunate that recent stories in the media appear to have sparked an investigation,” Cooper said. “Senator Joyce has been cooperating with each inquiry that has taken place to date resulting from those stories and believes that he has done absolutely nothing wrong.”

The senator himself, meanwhile, announced in a Facebook post Tuesday night that he would not seek reelection in November after an 18-year run in the state Senate. Joyce did not provide a reason for his decision but thanked his constituents in the Norfolk Bristol & Plymouth District for the honor of working on their behalf. “[My wife] Mary and I are especially grateful for the many recent gestures of support and acts of love,” he said.

As for the February 17 raid, the Boston Globe, which has published multiple stories about the senator’s alleged ethical and financial missteps in the past year, reported last week that it stemmed from recent Globe stories “detailing several ways in which Joyce allegedly used his position as a senator to benefit himself and his law practice.”

The Globe, citing a person familiar with the investigation, also indicated that the raid was “related to recent Boston Globe stories scrutinizing free services” that Joyce received.

In January, the Globe raised questions about an arrangement that the senator had with a Randolph business owner to receive free dry cleaning — an arrangement that reportedly began in the late 1990s and continued until 2008, when the owner, Jerry Richman, sold his dry cleaning business.

In a statement posted on his website, Joyce defended the deal with Richman as a “barter arrangement,” insisting that the dry cleaning was payment for legal services that he provided “over the course of many years.” Richman, however, told the Globe that there was no formal agreement and that Joyce did not do any legal work for at least the first six years that he provided free dry cleaning. Richman alleges that Joyce took full advantage of his generosity — receiving up to $100 worth of free cleaning every week for nearly a decade — and he told the Globe last week that he would gladly speak to federal investigators about the arrangement.

In addition to the dry cleaning arrangement, Joyce has also come under fire for some of his campaign spending practices — including his use of $3,400 in campaign funds to pay for a portion of his son’s 2014 graduation party — and for using his position as a legislator to benefit his legal clients.

Last May, in the wake of another Globe report detailing the senator’s close ties to Peabody-based Energi, Senate President Stan Rosenberg sent a letter to the state Ethics Commission requesting an investigation into Joyce’s conduct. Joyce, in response, pledged full cooperation with any probe and then “temporarily and voluntarily” relinquished his positions as assistant majority leader and chairman of the Committee on Bills in the Third Reading, which reviews and approves all legislation before it can proceed to the Senate floor.

Joyce also recently agreed to donate more than $3,367 of his own money to the Mass. Hospital School in Canton, plus an additional $1,250 to other local charities, as part of an agreement with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance over an assortment of campaign finance issues. Among the issues identified by the OCPF were the personal use of campaign funds for his son’s graduation party and the “failure to disclose campaign finance activity and keep detailed records.”

Joyce, who entered into the agreement voluntarily and was not required to admit any wrongdoing, said in a statement that he made the donations to “avoid any appearance of impropriety.” He also noted that he was cleared by the Ethics Commission in the case involving his purchase of designer sunglasses at a discounted rate for his Senate colleagues.

In both instances, Joyce said the inquiries were caused by “newspaper articles” from overzealous media members.

“As I continue to represent my constituents and serve my clients, I will also attempt to repair the damage these allegations have cost me politically, professionally and personally,” Joyce said.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Feb 25 2016. Filed under News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.