Results tagged “wilkersonwatch”

Dianne Wilkerson plead not guilty today to new charges of accepting bribes for playing a role in a development deal. Wilkerson resigned her state senate seat last fall after bribery chargers were made. Councilman Chuck Turner, also pleading not guilty to bribery charges, appeared in court with Wilkerson today.

In her first interview since being arrested for bribery in October, Dianne Wilkerson revealed she took way more money than was caught on tape (or in her bra): up to $70,000. But at least these funds weren't bribes. To the contrary, they were totally legal (according to Wilkerson), and just going toward paying off Wilkerson's personal debts, particularly those nagging tax bills. That's what we elect our politicians for—to help 'em out! The more destitute, the better. Apparently it is legal for individuals to give a tax-free $12,000 to others, but it's usually more of a parent-child than a constituent-politician payment. And even if a bunch of kind-hearted Bostonians (assuming those exist) really just wanted to help Wilkerson with her non-tax-paying ways (by giving her even more money to not pay taxes on), she could've some taken measures to make it look a bit less suspicious. For example, Arthur Winn, a partner in the Columbus Center project, gave Wilkerson money—and she conveniently voted to fund his development. Wilkerson also uses the "everyone does it" excuse:

Dianne Wilkerson, the state senator suspected of accepting bribes from constituents, resigned from her position today, following yesterday's indictment on charges of attempted extortion. Sonia Chang-Diaz will take over the job in January. The Herald reports that Dianne is boxing up her possessions—no word on how much money is among them.

According to the Globe, state senator Dianne Wilkerson's longtime political pal Ron Wilburn may have been the "cooperating witness" (CW) behind the FBI operation against Wilkerson. The FBI isn't revealing its sources, but Wilkerson aides claim--and FBI footage seems to confirm--that Wilburn is the man who bribed Wilkerson to get him a liquor license.