FBI surveillance photo which, they say, show Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner accepting a $1,000 bribe
City Councilor Turner: 'I am innocent'
Worcester (AP/WBZ Newsroom) -- FBI agents arrested a Boston city council member Friday after he was videotaped allegedly 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 at City Hall less than a month after his records were subpoenaed as part of the investigation into former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson. She 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.
Turner was released on a $50,000 unsecured bond after a pretrial hearing in U.S. District Court in Worcester later Friday. He is prohibited from traveling out of the state without permission and from destroying documents related to the case.
Turner shook his head as the charges were read against him. Supporters who attended the pretrial hearing shouted, "We love you."
"I am absolutely and positively sure that a jury of my peers will come to the conclusion that I am innocent," Turner said outside the courthouse.
After he spoke, his supporters chanted "Chuck" and waved signs, including one that said: "Turner stands for quality."
An affidavit said Turner was taped in August 2007 taking a wad of money from the informant while in his district office, then denied receiving the payment when confronted by FBI agents on the day Wilkerson was arrested.
The informant attempted to make a second payment in September 2007 just outside the City Council chamber but could not arrange time alone with Turner, according to the affidavit.
Turner, a member of the Green-Rainbow Party who has been one of Wilkerson's staunchest supporters, told the FBI agents after her arrest that corruption was pervasive among politicians.
"If you took out all corrupt politicians, you'd take out 90 percent and be left with us 10 percent," he said.
The affidavit summarized what an FBI agent said was "a portion of a covert investigation into the criminal activities of Turner and others." It said more than 150 recordings had been made as part of the investigation.
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.
U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said Friday that Menino, other members of the Legislature and the governor's office were not targets of the ongoing probe. He refused to expand beyond that when asked about City Hall employees or the city's Licensing Board, which includes gubernatorial appointees.
"This always casts a cloud over governments," Menino said Friday. "It's frustrating for me. It's very frustrating for me. We are supposed to be here to help people."
Feeney called a special council meeting for Monday and said she was removing Turner from his committee assignments.
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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Worcester (AP/WBZ Newsroom) -- FBI agents arrested a Boston city council member Friday after he was videotaped allegedly taking a $1,000 bribe from an undercover agent in an expanding investigation into corruption at City Hall and the Massachusetts Statehouse.
