Glen Johnson, AP, November 21, 2008
FBI agents arrested a Boston city council member Friday after he was allegedly videotaped taking a $1,000 bribe from an undercover agent in an expanding investigation into corruption at City Hall and the Massachusetts Statehouse.
Chuck Turner was taken into custody about 7 a.m. at City Hall, less than a month after his records were subpoenaed as part of the investigation into former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, who was charged last month after the FBI said she was photographed stuffing bribe money under her sweater.
Turner was charged with attempted extortion and making false statements for allegedly accepting $1,000 from the same confidential informant who said he paid bribes to Wilkerson in exchange for help getting a liquor license for a Boston nightclub.
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Turner told the FBI agents after Wilkerson’s arrest that corruption was pervasive among politicians.
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A similar FBI affidavit filed in connection with Wilkerson’s case refers to Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, City Council President Maureen Feeney, Senate President Therese Murray and other city and state officials—most of whom have acknowledged receiving subpoenas in the case. Menino, Feeney and Murray have denied any wrongdoing.
Wilkerson was arrested Oct. 28 and indicated Tuesday on eight counts surrounding allegations she accepted $23,500 in bribes for arranging a liquor license and land transfer for an FBI informant and undercover agents she thought were businessmen.
The Boston Democrat was the only black member of the state Senate before resigning Wednesday under the threat of expulsion by her colleagues.
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None of the individuals was named, and the affidavit did not say if the money was ever paid. Wilkerson is represented in the House by Rep. Byron Rushing, a Boston Democrat who also received a subpoena.
Turner, Wilkerson’s city councilor, is a fellow African-American who is a Harvard-educated member of the Green-Rainbow Party. He also is a veteran community activist who has been on the City Council since 2000, and has been a staunch Wilkerson supporter.
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Original article
(Posted on November 21, 2008)
Comments
“2nd Mass. Politician Charged With Taking Bribe.”
I’m just wondering how long it will be before they discover the governor doing something illegal.
It will have to be pretty blatant and unequivocal evidence or the MSM will refuse to pursue it and continue running interference for another crooked politician because he’s black.
The MSM has done more than their part in helping to destroy this country. They should feel very proud.
The quality of Boston politics have sure declined since Dapper O’Neil’s departure.
“If they wuz White… nobody’d care.” Which is what we heard when the “honorable” Congressman Jeffords, D., Louisiana, was charged with influence selling and accepting bribes. But he is also a Black.
“tonight on the cbs evening news with katie couric: more evidence of corruption in the democratic party. an ‘eye on america’ investigation — more arrests of democrats after the party promised honesty in government. that’s coming up tonight on the cbs evening news with katie couric”
The blacks want a black representation of everything that the whites have had- a black bishop, a black Wonder Woman, etc.
Take the bad with the good.
Looks to me like some FBI guys are putting their jobs in jeopardy by mezzin wi da blacks, black corruption really can go all the way to the top now.
Turner told the FBI agents after Wilkerson’s arrest that corruption was pervasive among politicians.
Looks like there’s an IQ aspect to this.
Yes, corrupt politicians are members of all races. But how many corrupt politicians will accept a bribe just a month after talking to the FBI about a fellow politican who was arrested? Isn’t that pushing stupidity to the limit?
I have long known that if a black man wants to go to the joint for ten years, he should put on a coat and tie. I have represented about 5 different black politicans for offenses that wouldn`t merit a white politician getting a speeding ticket.
I live here in Boston, and have been following the cases against these two black politicians. Diane Wilkerson has had many other issues before this, and has continually claimed racism against her. But this time she was actually set up and recorded by a black man, which tends to go against the overly used and lame excuse racism argument. And she hasnt claimed racism this time, yet. Chuck Turner also has adamantly proclaimed his innocence, but has yet to revert to the racism card.
With the election of Obama, and that the fact that many whites were bending over backwards to get this guy elected, I think blacks see this and are refrainng from using the racism card to blame ‘whitey’ for all their failures and problems.
But these comments from this lawyer from Florida has brought me back to reality. Its only for the time being. Blacks will continue to fail, and continue to do stupid things, its in their genes. And the unfortunate part is that they will always blame the white man.
Jay Fresh
Here in Birmingham, Alabama a sixteen year old high school student has been arrested for attempted extortion and accused of having mailed eleven threatening letters to individuals and businesses, including president of the county commission. He had previously been arrested for attempting to extort three million dollars from another company. (Yeah, he wasn’t on the Dean’s List.) Being a juvenile, his name and picture have not been released, but judging by his home address, he is either black or the bravest white boy who ever lived.
Massachusetts and Boston politics are corrupt. The Big Dig was just the culmination of over 100 years of corruption. The Kennedys made their money corruptly in the private sector before getting into politics: an unusual situation for the Irish community in the Bay State. I am delighted our black brothers and sisters have achieved full equality in the land of the Pilgrims’ pride. I hope they’ll have the class to say yeah we did it, so what, which was the Irish/Italians response. I’ll be so disappointed if Chuck Turner(longtime Jesse Jackson type thug) whines that he is being picked on because of race.
The Bay State prosecutes one and all. Of course the prosecution deters no one. The gravy thanks to plunderers like Ted Kennedy and Mayor Menino sloppeth over the tray.
At least Chuck didn’t work on funding school projects with wacked out theories developed by Communist murderers like Bill Ayers! I mean who is worse morally? Barry or Chuck?
Feller is correct. Boston politics is corrupt period. It’s not just Blacks, it is everyone getting in on the action.
Must be a democrat otherwise the article would say “Republican” at least twice.
Here in the bay state we have our own version of obama as the govenor, Deval Patrick. As a conservative (yes, they exist in Marxachusetts)i’ve been hoping since the day partick took office that he’d get into some kind of trouble and have to resign. With the corruption of Wilkerson and Turner now known, it does give me a glimmer of hope that leftist deval will blunder too.
Charles B. Tiffany
Your post is bizarre. You related two anecdotal experiences in which neither black person got ten years, despite your first sentence. For that amount of time you have to get a hooker and a crack pipe. Mayor Marion Barry comes to mind, though he got quite a bit of time and he still was not driven out of politics. Would a white politician fair as well?
Frankly, black politicians get a boost (take our new president, please) and political protection from their level of skin color, but the failures of black politicians are legion (Detroit comes to mind). These failures are not caused by poverty, the FBI and not caused by “the man”. For God’s sake, get a grip.
Turner is in the Green-Rainbow Party, actually.
http://www.massgreens.org/
They’re “standing with him.”
