Dianne Wilkerson
Encyclopedia
Dianne Wilkerson is a former Democratic
member of the Massachusetts Senate
, representing the 2nd Suffolk District from 1993 to 2008.
On October 28, 2008, she was arrested on public corruption charges by the FBI for allegedly accepting bribes totaling $23,500. She formally resigned on November 19, 2008. On June 3, 2010 she pleaded guilty to eight counts of attempted extortion.
She lost the September 2008 Democratic primary to Sonia Chang-Díaz
, and on October 31, 2008, announced that she was ending her sticker campaign to seek re-election in the November 4, 2008, election. On November 19, 2008, Wilkerson formally resigned from the Massachusetts state Senate.
When in office, Wilkerson's Senatorial District included the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Chinatown, Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill, Roxbury, the South End, and some parts of the Fenway, Dorchester, and Mattapan.
Hynes Convention Center & Boston Common Parking Garage Legislative Commission, Co-Chair;
Special Commission on Non-Group and Small Group Health Insurance, Co-Chair;
Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board, Member.
Vice-Chair, Joint Committee on Financial Services;
Member, Senate Committee on Ways and Means;
Member, Joint Committee on Education;
Member, Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse;
Member, Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets.
Wilkerson, who joined the bar in 1981 but has not practiced in a decade, gave "intentionally false, misleading, and deceptive testimony" at the Suffolk Superior Court hearing and in a sworn affidavit, according to the eight-page petition for discipline.
In both the court appearance and the affidavit, the complaint said, Wilkerson falsely claimed that she was present at a Boston police station when two homicide detectives interviewed another nephew, Isaac Wilkerson, about the 1994 stabbing death of Hazel Mack. Berry was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Mack's death, but the senator testified that Isaac Wilkerson made statements that implicated himself during the interview.
Wilkerson also lied when she testified that the detectives repeatedly turned a tape recorder off and on during the interview, the disciplinary complaint said.
Wilkerson was the subject of an 18 month long undercover investigation conducted by the Boston Police Department
and the FBI in which she allegedly accepted eight bribes in cash totaling $23,500. The payments, ranging in amounts from $500 to $10,000 were received from undercover law enforcement officers and a cooperating witness. The bribes were allegedly accepted in return for her help in obtaining a liquor license for a proposed nightclub and transferring public land to a federal agent posing as a private developer. If convicted, she may face up to 20 years in prison plus possible fines of $250,000 for each of the two criminal counts.
On November 17, 2008, Wilkerson filed a motion in federal court requesting a court-appointed lawyer to defend her against the bribery charges. She stated that she could not afford to pay for a lawyer and asked US Magistrate Judge Timothy S. Hillman to appoint Max D. Stern. Stern had been defending Wilkerson in an unrelated matter.
On November 18, 2008, a federal grand jury indicted Wilkerson on eight counts of accepting bribes.
On December 8, 2008, Wilkerson appeared before Judge Timothy S. Hillman in the U.S. District Court
in Boston to plead not guilty to eight extortion charges. After a federal grand jury added a conspiracy charge against Wilkerson, she had to return to court on December 11 along with co-defendant Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner
to again plead not guilty to all charges. She currently is free on bail, and was scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing in US District Court on February 25, 2009.
On April 7, 2009, a federal grand jury added 23 more counts of corruption against Wilkerson. It was alleged that she had been receiving bribes since 2002.
On June 3, 2010 Wilkerson pleaded guilty to eight counts of attempted extortion. As part of her plea agreement, other related charges will be dismissed. She remains free on bail while awaiting sentencing that will take place some time in the fall of 2010.
On January 6, 2011, Wilkerson was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for bribery.
In response to the arrest, Senate President Therese Murray
stripped Wilkerson of her chairmanship of the Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight and stated that she would initiate a Senate Ethics Committee investigation. On October 30, 2008, the Massachusetts Senate removed her from all her committee assignments and unanimously passed a resolution calling on Wilkerson to resign. In response, Wilkerson sent a letter to Senate President Therese Murray stating that she would follow the will of the Senate. Wilkerson was not present during the Senate vote. Wilkerson later released a statement indicating that she would not resign, calling the request "unreasonable" and also stating: "Surely the members of the state Senate could not have believed that such a monumental decision would be made within a few hours. A decision to leave this district without representation, even for 60 days, is one that cannot and should not be made in a matter of hours. Rest assured I am committed to do what is in the best interest of the residents of this district."
In the days following her arrest, calls for Wilkerson's resignation also came from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick
and in editorials from Boston's two major newspapers, the Boston Herald
and the Boston Globe.
On November 5, 2008, in a statement issued by her Senate office, Wilkerson announced that she would resign "...as soon as humanly and responsibly possible" and on November 19, 2008, Wilkerson formally resigned from the Massachusetts state Senate, the day before the Senate was to vote on expelling her.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
member of the Massachusetts Senate
Massachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the state...
, representing the 2nd Suffolk District from 1993 to 2008.
On October 28, 2008, she was arrested on public corruption charges by the FBI for allegedly accepting bribes totaling $23,500. She formally resigned on November 19, 2008. On June 3, 2010 she pleaded guilty to eight counts of attempted extortion.
Education
Dianne Wilkerson graduated from High School of Commerce. She holds a Juris Doctorate degree from Boston College Law School and a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Administration from American International College in 1978.Political career
In 1993, she became the first African American female to serve in the Massachusetts Senate.She lost the September 2008 Democratic primary to Sonia Chang-Díaz
Sonia Chang-Díaz
Sonia Rosa Chang-Díaz is an American Democrat politician who represents the 2nd Suffolk District in the Massachusetts Senate. She is the first Hispanic or Latino woman to hold such office.-Background:...
, and on October 31, 2008, announced that she was ending her sticker campaign to seek re-election in the November 4, 2008, election. On November 19, 2008, Wilkerson formally resigned from the Massachusetts state Senate.
When in office, Wilkerson's Senatorial District included the Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Chinatown, Jamaica Plain, Mission Hill, Roxbury, the South End, and some parts of the Fenway, Dorchester, and Mattapan.
Legislative appointments
Commission to Eliminate Racial & Ethnic Healthcare Disparities, Co-Chair;Hynes Convention Center & Boston Common Parking Garage Legislative Commission, Co-Chair;
Special Commission on Non-Group and Small Group Health Insurance, Co-Chair;
Massachusetts Workforce Investment Board, Member.
Legislative committees
Senate Chair, Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight;Vice-Chair, Joint Committee on Financial Services;
Member, Senate Committee on Ways and Means;
Member, Joint Committee on Education;
Member, Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse;
Member, Joint Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets.
Community appointments and memberships
- 21st Century Black Massachusetts Conference, Convener
- Action for Boston Community Development, Inc. (ABCD), Ex, Officio Member
- Asian American Civic Association, Advisory Board Member
- Boston State Hospital Citizens Advisory Committee, Ex-Officio Member
- Caucus of Women Legislators, Member
- Chinatown Trust Fund, Trustee
- Chinese Progressive Association, Capital Campaign Committee Honorary Member
- Coalition for Caring, Co-Convener
- Delta Sigma ThetaDelta Sigma ThetaDelta Sigma Theta is a non-profit Greek-lettered sorority of college-educated women who perform public service and place emphasis on the African American community. Delta Sigma Theta Sorority was founded on January 13, 1913 by twenty-two collegiate women at Howard University...
sorority, Member - Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, Member
- Fenway Community Health Center, Member of Board of Visitors
- Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights under the Law, Steering Committee Member
- Morning Star Baptist Church, Member
- Northeastern University Community Task Force, Member
- Roxbury Strategic Master Plan Oversight Committee, Member
- Roxbury Trust Fund, Trustee
- Trustees' Fellows Athenaeum Trust Fund Advisory Committee, Trustee.
Federal tax evasion
Wilkerson was sentenced to house arrest in December 1997 after pleading guilty to failing to pay $51,000 in federal income taxes in the early 1990s. She was suspended from practicing law for one year in 1999 because of the conviction and did not seek reinstatement.Fleet/BankBoston merger
In 2001, she was fined $1,000 by the State Ethics Commission for failing to properly report that a bank she lobbied for as senator was paying her more than $20,000 a year as a consultant.Unreported donations
In September 2005, the state Attorney General and head of the state’s campaign finance office filed a lawsuit against Wilkerson, alleging she had not reported nearly $27,000 in donations and refused to explain more than $18,000 in personal reimbursements. She agreed to pay a $10,000 fine and forego about $30,000 in debts owed her to settle the allegations.Perjury complaint
The state Office of the Bar Counsel filed a complaint on October 3, 2008, accusing Wilkerson of violating the rules of professional conduct by lying under oath at a 2005 court hearing at which her nephew, Jermaine Berry, requested a new trial on a manslaughter conviction.Wilkerson, who joined the bar in 1981 but has not practiced in a decade, gave "intentionally false, misleading, and deceptive testimony" at the Suffolk Superior Court hearing and in a sworn affidavit, according to the eight-page petition for discipline.
In both the court appearance and the affidavit, the complaint said, Wilkerson falsely claimed that she was present at a Boston police station when two homicide detectives interviewed another nephew, Isaac Wilkerson, about the 1994 stabbing death of Hazel Mack. Berry was convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Mack's death, but the senator testified that Isaac Wilkerson made statements that implicated himself during the interview.
Wilkerson also lied when she testified that the detectives repeatedly turned a tape recorder off and on during the interview, the disciplinary complaint said.
Public corruption conviction
On October 28, 2008, Wilkerson was arrested by the FBI on public corruption charges. A federal criminal complaint was filed against her that alleges she was caught on tape stuffing a cash bribe into her bra and accepted those cash payments in exchange for her official duties and responsibilities.Wilkerson was the subject of an 18 month long undercover investigation conducted by the Boston Police Department
Boston Police Department
The Boston Police Department , created in 1838, holds the primary responsibility for law enforcement and investigation within the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the oldest police departments in the United States...
and the FBI in which she allegedly accepted eight bribes in cash totaling $23,500. The payments, ranging in amounts from $500 to $10,000 were received from undercover law enforcement officers and a cooperating witness. The bribes were allegedly accepted in return for her help in obtaining a liquor license for a proposed nightclub and transferring public land to a federal agent posing as a private developer. If convicted, she may face up to 20 years in prison plus possible fines of $250,000 for each of the two criminal counts.
On November 17, 2008, Wilkerson filed a motion in federal court requesting a court-appointed lawyer to defend her against the bribery charges. She stated that she could not afford to pay for a lawyer and asked US Magistrate Judge Timothy S. Hillman to appoint Max D. Stern. Stern had been defending Wilkerson in an unrelated matter.
On November 18, 2008, a federal grand jury indicted Wilkerson on eight counts of accepting bribes.
On December 8, 2008, Wilkerson appeared before Judge Timothy S. Hillman in the U.S. District Court
United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts
The United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts is the federal district court whose jurisdiction is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA. The first court session was held in Boston in 1789. The second term was held in Salem in 1790 and until 1813 court session locations...
in Boston to plead not guilty to eight extortion charges. After a federal grand jury added a conspiracy charge against Wilkerson, she had to return to court on December 11 along with co-defendant Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner
Chuck Turner
Chuck Turner is a Boston, Massachusetts politician, activist, and convicted felon, who served on the Boston City Council representing District 7. Turner is a member of the Green-Rainbow Party Massachusetts affiliate to the national Green Party...
to again plead not guilty to all charges. She currently is free on bail, and was scheduled to appear at a preliminary hearing in US District Court on February 25, 2009.
On April 7, 2009, a federal grand jury added 23 more counts of corruption against Wilkerson. It was alleged that she had been receiving bribes since 2002.
On June 3, 2010 Wilkerson pleaded guilty to eight counts of attempted extortion. As part of her plea agreement, other related charges will be dismissed. She remains free on bail while awaiting sentencing that will take place some time in the fall of 2010.
On January 6, 2011, Wilkerson was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for bribery.
Effect on political career
Despite the arrest, Wilkerson initially vowed to continue her write-in candidacy and criticized US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, whom she accused of "engaging in a political calculus to derail her campaign". However on October 31, after meeting with members of Boston's Ten Point Coalition and Black Ministerial Alliance, she agreed to suspend her campaign stating "I am withdrawing from the race. We will not be doing any work on the sticker campaign".In response to the arrest, Senate President Therese Murray
Therese Murray
Therese Murray is an American state legislator who has served as President of the Massachusetts Senate since March 2007. Murray, a Democrat, is the first woman to lead a house of the Massachusetts General Court...
stripped Wilkerson of her chairmanship of the Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight and stated that she would initiate a Senate Ethics Committee investigation. On October 30, 2008, the Massachusetts Senate removed her from all her committee assignments and unanimously passed a resolution calling on Wilkerson to resign. In response, Wilkerson sent a letter to Senate President Therese Murray stating that she would follow the will of the Senate. Wilkerson was not present during the Senate vote. Wilkerson later released a statement indicating that she would not resign, calling the request "unreasonable" and also stating: "Surely the members of the state Senate could not have believed that such a monumental decision would be made within a few hours. A decision to leave this district without representation, even for 60 days, is one that cannot and should not be made in a matter of hours. Rest assured I am committed to do what is in the best interest of the residents of this district."
In the days following her arrest, calls for Wilkerson's resignation also came from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick
Deval Patrick
Deval Laurdine Patrick is the 71st and current Governor of Massachusetts. A member of the Democratic Party, Patrick served as an Assistant United States Attorney General under President Bill Clinton...
and in editorials from Boston's two major newspapers, the Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
and the Boston Globe.
On November 5, 2008, in a statement issued by her Senate office, Wilkerson announced that she would resign "...as soon as humanly and responsibly possible" and on November 19, 2008, Wilkerson formally resigned from the Massachusetts state Senate, the day before the Senate was to vote on expelling her.