Case dismissed against Joyce after his death

U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling has dismissed the government’s year-old racketeering and political corruption case against attorney Brian Joyce in the wake of the former state senator’s Sept. 27 death at his home in Westport.

Lelling notified U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton Thursday.

Joyce, 56, was facing a 113-count indictment charging him with racketeering, fraud, money laundering, extortion and obstruction as part of a scheme to trade his political influence for cash and bribes. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Prosecutors had amassed more than 1.5 million pages of discovery, according to a status conference on the case held 10 days before he died. He was tentatively scheduled to go on trial in May. No plea discussions had taken place, according to the court.

The married father of five and 20-year fixture in the Legislature “died peacefully,” according to his obituary. Visiting hours were held Saturday in South Dartmouth. His funeral service was to be private.

His family asked that donations be made in his memory “to the Innocence Project to help the victims of wrongful prosecution.”

The feds’ case against Joyce’s business and personal tax preparer, accountant John H. Nardozzi, currently remains on track with a status conference scheduled for Oct. 18.

Nardozzi was arrested earlier this year on federal charges he conspired to defraud the IRS out of hundreds of thousands of dollars while allegedly helping Joyce file false tax returns for years.

Nardozzi, 66, has been free on $50,000 bond on the conditions he seek mental health treatment and abstain from alcohol.