(Photo courtesy Facebook)

By Phil Demers, MassLive

Brian A. Joyce, a former state senator, was led away his home in handcuffs on Thursday. He faces more than 100 charges alleging racketeering, extortion, fraud, money laundering and others. Several of the charges carry penalties of up to 20 years in prison.

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Joyce, 55, was first elected to the Senate in 1997, where he would continue to serve for the next nine consecutive terms before announcing plans to step down last year.



At various times assistant Senate majority leader, chair of the Special Committee to Improve Government, vice chair of the Committee on Redistricting and a member of Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, the Democrat at one time ranked among the most powerful members of the Senate.



Former Senate President Stan Rosenberg had been a staunch supporter in Joyce, who was helped along in attaining his position as assistant majority leader and on influential committees after back Rosenberg prior to the latter's ascension to the Senate presidency in 2015.



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The indictment alleges that Joyce accepted bribes and kickbacks in exchange for taking official actions to benefit those companies.

He is alleged to have accepted 500 pounds of free coffee in exchange for taking action to support a Dunkin Donuts franchise owner.

In another instance, authorities say he received a gifted Jeep as thanks for pushing the Milton Planning Board to approve a property subdivision waiver for a developer.

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Harold H. Shaw. Photo credit: Kristin LaFratta / MassLive.

"We believe Mr. Joyce was greedy, plain and simple," Harold Shaw, special agent in charge for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said Friday. "As alleged, he blurred the line between public duties and private business and failed to act in the best interest of his constituents."

"Public service should never be a shortcut to personal enrichment," Shaw said. "Left unchecked, these crimes rip at the very fabric of democracy."

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Joyce's February 2016 announcement of plans to step down did not surprise many, coming as they did less than 10 days after the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided the offices of his law firm.



Joyce, who collected his bachelor's degree from Boston School of Management in 1984 and his Juris Doctor degree from Suffolk University Law School in 1990, incorporated Joyce Law Group LLC in 2007, according to filings with the state Corporations Division.

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The raid, conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service, was prompted by a number of Boston Globe stories detailing how Joyce appeared to be privately profiting from his public service.

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Before the raid, Joyce had lived most of his adult life in Milton, a Norfolk County town of 27,003, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. His state Senate district included more than 100,000 residents in the municipalities of Avon, Braintree, Canton, East Bridgewater, Easton, Milton, Randolph, Sharon, Stoughton and West Bridgewater.



He moved to Westport after the raid.

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The biographical information on Joyce listed on Mass.Gov says, "Senator Joyce has a well-deserved reputation for working hard on behalf of the communities he represents and the people he serves. While focusing much of his current efforts on economic expansion initiatives, Senator Joyce's priorities include: fiscal discipline, job creation, education, housing, public safety, and issues impacting senior citizens and persons with disabilities."



He now faces more than 100 charges.

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You can read the full details of the charges against Joyce by reading the following document.

Brian Joyce Indictment by Phil Demers on Scribd

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