Voters React To Wilkerson Charges
State Senator Accused Of Accepting Bribes
POSTED: 5:14 pm EDT October 28,
2008
UPDATED: 5:30 pm EDT October 28,
2008
Email
Print
BOSTON -- State Sen. Diane Wilkerson was accused Tuesday of accepted bribes from undercover agents that she thought were local businessmen.Wilkerson, 53, who is accused of accepting eight bribes worth more than $23,000, appeared in federal court and was charged with attempted extortion as a public official and theft of honest services as a state senator. Some of the alleged transactions were caught on tape.
Voters React To Wilkerson AccusationsWilkerson has been in the Senate since 1993, but lost this year's primary to challenger Sonia Chang-Diaz. She was waging a write-in campaign after losing the primary.Voters in Wilkerson's community reacted with shock to the charges."That doesn't sound like her. I don’t understand what happened because she was doing so good," one resident said."It is kind of shocking. You wouldn't think that she would do that," another resident said.The criminal complaint said that Wilkerson pushed legislation or held it in exchange for cash. Some residents said that the charges are too close to Election Day.On Monday, she had Anthony Dickson's vote following a political forum."She was dead-on on all of these issues. She made plenty of sense. That hasn't changed, it just cancels out everything, and that is the part that bothers me," he said.Wilkerson's legal and ethical challenges go back to 1997 when she was sentenced to house arrest for failing to pay $51,000 in federal income taxes.In 1998, she agreed to pay back unaccounted expenditures and undisclosed political contributions on similar allegations.One year later, Wilkerson was suspended from practicing law for one-year after a tax evasion conviction.In 2001, she was fined $1,000 by the State Ethics Commission for failing to properly report that a bank she lobbied for as a senator was paying her more than $20,000 a year as a consultant.In 2005, the attorney general's office filed a lawsuit, alleging Wilkerson failed to report campaign donations. She paid a fine to settle the suit.Wilkerson's most recent problem came on Friday, when the state bar counsel filed a complaint accusing her of lying under oath in an effort to overturn her nephew's voluntary manslaughter conviction. The penalty for that could include disbarment.
Voters React To Wilkerson AccusationsWilkerson has been in the Senate since 1993, but lost this year's primary to challenger Sonia Chang-Diaz. She was waging a write-in campaign after losing the primary.Voters in Wilkerson's community reacted with shock to the charges."That doesn't sound like her. I don’t understand what happened because she was doing so good," one resident said."It is kind of shocking. You wouldn't think that she would do that," another resident said.The criminal complaint said that Wilkerson pushed legislation or held it in exchange for cash. Some residents said that the charges are too close to Election Day.On Monday, she had Anthony Dickson's vote following a political forum."She was dead-on on all of these issues. She made plenty of sense. That hasn't changed, it just cancels out everything, and that is the part that bothers me," he said.Wilkerson's legal and ethical challenges go back to 1997 when she was sentenced to house arrest for failing to pay $51,000 in federal income taxes.In 1998, she agreed to pay back unaccounted expenditures and undisclosed political contributions on similar allegations.One year later, Wilkerson was suspended from practicing law for one-year after a tax evasion conviction.In 2001, she was fined $1,000 by the State Ethics Commission for failing to properly report that a bank she lobbied for as a senator was paying her more than $20,000 a year as a consultant.In 2005, the attorney general's office filed a lawsuit, alleging Wilkerson failed to report campaign donations. She paid a fine to settle the suit.Wilkerson's most recent problem came on Friday, when the state bar counsel filed a complaint accusing her of lying under oath in an effort to overturn her nephew's voluntary manslaughter conviction. The penalty for that could include disbarment. Copyright 2008 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
