BOSTON -- The Massachusetts Senate passed a unanimous resolution Thursday calling for Democratic state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson to resign her Senate seat following her arrest earlier this week on federal charges that she accepted thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for her influence on Beacon Hill.

The vote also called for the removal of Wilkerson, 54, from a committee chairmanship and other committee posts. It was taken during an afternoon session of the Senate after Democratic leaders met in closed meetings for several hours Thursday morning.

Senate Calls For Wilkerson Resignation | Voters React

Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick called for Wilkerson's resignation earlier Thursday, saying she should step down if the bribery allegations against her turn out to be true.

"I'm obviously deeply troubled by the charges and disappointed. I think her constituents feel betrayed and I feel personally betrayed," Patrick said. "I think if the allegations are true, she should resign."

Beacon Hill lawmakers had been mulling what action they might take against Wilkerson, who has been charged with taking more than $23,000 in bribes to help secure liquor licenses and influence development deals in the Second Suffolk district she has represented since 1992.

Wilkerson went to the Senate president's office late Thursday morning, where Democratic senators were meeting in private caucuses, but it was unclear what transpired there or how Wilkerson would respond to the Senate's resolution.

Her campaign workers said she would be out campaigning in her district Thursday.

One senator, however, said senators decided early on to call for Wilkerson's ouster.

"There will be an order put forth to remove her from (her) chairmanship and also another order to convene the Ethics Committee," Republican Sen. Richard Tisei said before the Senate voted.

Democratic Sen. Michael Morrissey, said he would move to have Wilkerson expelled and urged his colleagues to ask the Senate Ethics Committee "to make a speedy decision on removal."

Morrissey, chairman of the Consumer Protection and Licensure Committee, made the comments before going into a closed-door caucus Thursday morning.

He said that there is nothing in the Senate rules that require Wilkerson to be convicted before she could be removed from the Senate and that she "deserves to be thrown out. I will move to have her expelled."

Wilkerson's chairmanship of the State Administration Regulatory Oversight Committee earned her an extra $15,000 a year. She was also the vice chairman of the Financial Services Committee and was on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, among others.

One state senator said lawmakers needed to send a clear message that corruption will not be tolerated.

"This is not the way the Senate operates. It's not the way the House operates. This is an aberration, and it's an unfortunate one and it could rise to the level of a criminal one," said Republican Sen. Bruce Tarr, of Gloucester, Mass.

Photos released by federal authorities allegedly show the Roxbury Democrat stuffing money into her bra at a Beacon Hill area restaurant after accepting the money from an undercover agent.

Federal authorities allege that altogether Wilkerson accepted more than $23,000 in bribes to help secure a liquor license for a planned nightclub and to push state land into the hands of developers without going through a public bidding process.

In a written statement Wednesday, Wilkerson accused the U.S. attorney's office of trying to derail her write-in campaign for re-election by announcing the charges less than a week before voters go to the polls.

Wilkerson was defeated in the October Democratic primary race, but planned to try to regain her seat. She said Wednesday she will continue to pursue her campaign.

"U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan ... sought to imperil my re-election campaign ... and brought this issue forward at this time knowing full well that I would never have an opportunity to have my day in court prior to Nov. 4," Wilkerson said in a written statement Wednesday.

Others, however, disagreed that the charges were politically motivated.

"I don't think it was politically motivated at all. I think they were working on it for three years. If I were in the position she's in I would try to work through the issues and prove my innocence, if you are innocent," Boston Mayor Tom Menino said.

Federal investigators have confiscated written and computer documents from Wilkerson's home and Beacon Hill office have blanketed City Hall and the State House with subpoenas. They are requesting documents and other materials for a grand jury hearing that is slated for Nov. 11. as the scope of the investigation widens.