Federal authorities raid office of state Senator Brian Joyce in Canton: Reports

The FBI and IRS took over the law office of state Senator Brian Joyce on Wednesday in connection to an ongoing federal investigation, according to published reports.

An individual familiar to the investigation told the Boston Globe the raid was connected to recent stories by the publication, which were aimed at examining free services the senator had received.

According to the Boston Herald, an FBI Boston spokeswoman said the agencies were “conducting court-authorized activity” at Joyce’s Canton office.

“It is unfortunate that recent stories in the media appear to have sparked an investigation,” said attorney Howard M. Cooper in a statement according to both publications. “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.”

In a series of recent Boston Globe articles, it was reported that under an agreement made public in January by the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance, Joyce had agreed to pay close to $5,00 for using campaign funds to pay for is son’s high school graduation party in 2014.

The Globe also reported that the governor had called on the state’s Ethics Commission to investigate after the publication reported that the senator received free dry cleaning from a local business for over a decade.

Following another investigation last year, Joyce stepped down as assistant majority leader.