Local Senators in the Thick of Probe

By Alan Burke
Staff writer

Salem News

October 31, 2008 10:08 am

—

Two local state senators will be passing first judgment on whether colleague Dianne Wilkerson, D-Boston, should be ousted from the Legislature.

Caught in an FBI sting, complete with photos of the senator stuffing money into her bra, Wilkerson was urged to resign by a unanimous Senate vote yesterday. Wilkerson, who is accused of taking more than $23,000 in bribes, was also stripped of a chairmanship and committee assignments.

Her case now goes before the Senate Ethics Committee, which could simply expel her from the Senate.

All three North Shore senators joined in the vote, including Senate Majority Leader Fred Berry, D-Peabody, who is also vice chairman of the ethics committee, Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, and Thomas McGee, D-Lynn. Tarr was chosen hours later to join the ethics committee after Richard Tisei, R-Wakefield, stepped down, citing a conflict of interest as his party's leader.

The ethics committee is required to investigate the matter more thoroughly before further action can be taken. "She's entitled to a hearing," said McGee, adding, "There's a whole slew of things that (the committee) can recommend. Unseating her from the Senate is one of them."

The ethics committee was charged with making its recommendation as soon as possible.

Explaining his vote against Wilkerson — prior to the formal ethics committee investigation — Tarr pointed to an affidavit from an FBI agent involved in the sting. "It was a crucial component.," he said. "... Almost every member had a chance to read that."

It alleged that Wilkerson took bribes from people who wanted help in obtaining liquor licenses.

"I read the affidavit," McGee said. "I followed what was going on. ... These are serious allegations." Taking away Wilkerson's chairmanship and committee assignments, he said, "was unprecedented."

Before voting, McGee said, the Senate also took into account Wilkerson's past problems, including a conviction for federal income tax evasion and fundraising irregularities.

Supporters of Wilkerson, the state's first black female senator, have cited racial prejudice in defending her from past critics. Wilkerson has also accused the U.S. attorney of bringing the charges in an attempt to sabotage her re-election campaign, an effort being waged on stickers, as she lost in the Democratic primary, bested by Sonia Chang-Diaz.

The North Shore senators dismissed the idea that race played any role in their votes.

Noting that he sat beside Wilkerson in the Senate "for a number of years," Tarr declined to give his opinion of her as a person. "That's one thing I can't discuss," he said, as a member of the ethics committee.

As vice chairman of the ethics committee, Berry said he was constrained from speaking directly to the issues involved, but he said, "We all take this very seriously. ... Sen. Murray is irate." Therese Murray, D-Plymouth, is the Senate president.

All three senators acknowledged the damage that such incidents do to the public's esteem for the institution of the Senate in particular and government in general. "I listen to talk radio," Berry said, "and we're all painted with the same brush. It's pretty horrible."

"It plays into people's worst fears," Tarr said. "This is not the way the Senate and the House operate. The allegations, if proven, will be an aberration."

"We need to preserve the trust of the people who elected us," McGee said. "The people I've worked with here are hardworking, honest, and they do the job they're expected to do."

"From my perspective," Berry said, "these rules were put into play over 200 years ago. There's a reason why they lasted that long. We feel your behavior is most important. Not only are you serving the people of the commonwealth, but it's a privilege and an honor to be here."

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