Dianne Wilkerson accused of taking $23G in bribes
Faces up to 40 years of jail time if convicted
By Laurel J. Sweet | Wednesday, October 29, 2008 | bostonherald.com | Local Politics
Photo by Mike Adaskaveg
In a Beacon Hill brasserie just feet from the State House, where oysters on the half shell will set most back a tank of gas, Sen. Dianne Wilkerson slithered a greased palm up her cardigan and stuffed $1,000 in bribe money into her bra, federal prosecutors allege.
On any given weekday, No. 9 Park is the place for an ambitious legislator to be seen chewing the fat. But on June 18, 2007, Wilkerson, 54, was apparently unaware that the government informant who’d just handed her 10 $100 bills allegedly in exchange for her twisting the arms of a who’s who of political powerbrokers to obtain one liquor license had brought a hidden camera to lunch, as well.
“She has a long history of acting as if she is above the law,” assistant U.S. Attorney John T. McNeil warned federal Magistrate Judge Timothy S. Hillman of the convicted tax cheat and serial campaign finance offender yesterday after the Roxbury resident made an initial federal court appearance on charges of attempted extortion and defrauding the public.
Wilkerson, who McNeil said had $6,000 cash on her when she was busted, has not yet been indicted by a grand jury, and therefore was not required to tender a plea. If convicted, however, she faces up to 40 years in prison.
The Senate chairman of the Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight was merely “Miss Wilkerson” to Hillman, who released her on a $50,000 bond with the conditions she steer clear of witnesses in her case and not toss out a single piece of paper that comes her way, including junk mail.
“There is a substantial concern on the part of the government that records will be, quote, ‘lost,’ prior to trial,” McNeil said.
Said Hillman, “I can foresee the government bringing Miss Wilkerson’s trash to my lobby.”
What spilled forth yesterday in voluminous court documents is messy enough for Wilkerson. The State House stalwart is accused after an 18-month investigation by the FBI and Boston police of taking $23,500 in bribes and abusing her seat of power to manipulate legislation.
Wilkerson allegedly assured the informant she would “kick some tires” to get him a nontransferable liquor license for a proposed club called Dejavu that might otherwise cost him $300,000 to purchase.
In addition to reaching out to Mayor Thomas M. Menino and Senate President Therese Murray, Wilkerson allegedly boasted to the informant that she was impeding various bills before the Senate which, among other things, would raise the salaries of Boston Licensing Board members.
At an Aug. 31, 2007, rendezvous with the informant at the Fill-A-Buster restaurant on Beacon Hill, to which Wilkerson brought her grandchild, Wilkerson allegedly pocketed another $1,000. That night, records show, the senator dined and gambled at Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Arrested at her home, Wilkerson spent much of yesterday in a steel cell with a petitioned-off toilet under the watch of U.S. Marshals, wearing a hip-length raspberry top and black slacks, not a hair of her silken bob out of place. In court, she let defense attorney Max Stern speak for her.
“What we have here is an occasion to engage in character assassination,” Stern balked. He later asked reporters to remember there is a “before” and “after” to photos that might appear incriminating.
As for the $6,000 Wilkerson had in her pocketbook, Stern said it was “money she withdrew from her savings account for current expenses.”
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