Ex-Mass. state senator charged with accepting bribes, kickbacks

BOSTON (AP) — A former Massachusetts state senator was charged today with accepting up to $1 million in bribes and kickbacks in exchange for helping companies and then laundering the money through his law office, disguising it as legal fees.

Brian Joyce, 55, was arrested at his Westport home shortly before sunrise, hours before authorities unsealed a 113-count indictment stemming from a two-year investigation that charges the Democrat with racketeering, extortion, wire fraud and money laundering.

"We believe Mr. Joyce was greedy, plain and simple," FBI Special Agent in Charge Hank Shaw said.

Acting U.S. Attorney William Weinreb said Joyce, who represented more than 100,000 residents as a state legislator, ran his public office as a "criminal enterprise."

"He had a duty to serve [his constituents] honestly, and he violated that duty by accepting bribes and kickbacks in exchange for his official action," Weinreb said.

Joyce pleaded not guilty in Worcester's federal courthouse today before being released on $250,000 bond.

His attorney, Howard Cooper, said after Joyce's court appearance that "he's innocent of all of these charges."

"In the last few years it's been apparent across the country that the federal government has brought a number of cases against public officials which have either gone nowhere or have been rejected by juries or highly criticized by courts," Cooper told reporters.

Joyce's law office in Canton was raided by the FBI in February 2016 in what was then described as "court-authorized activity in connection with an ongoing federal investigation." Cooper said at the time Joyce was cooperating and believed he had done nothing wrong.