FBI arrests Chuck Turner on corruption charges

by Tina Kells | November 21, 2008 at 09:18 am

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Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner has been arrested by the FBI on corruption charges after being caught on film accepting a $10,000 bribe. Not one to go down alone Turner defended his actions by saying that 9 out of 10 politicians are corrupt and that cracking down on them will leave citizens without leaders. What a class act!

The FBI arrested Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner this morning on charges he accepted a $1,000 bribe and then lied about taking the money in a widening federal corruption inquiry.

A 12-page affidavit filed this morning in US District Court alleges that Turner was surreptitiously videotaped accepting the cash in his district office on Aug. 3, 2007, in exchange for pushing for a liquor license of the Roxbury nightclub Dejavu. Included with the affidavit are two photographs of Turner allegedly accepting the bribe. In one image, Turner's trademark white goatee is clearly visible as folded green bills are pressed into his hand.

Turner was arrested in his City Hall office at 7 a.m. on charges stemming from the undercover investigation, which lead to the Oct. 28 arrest of state Senator Dianne Wilkerson on allegations she accepted eight bribes worth $23,500. The day of Wilkerson's arrest, two FBI agents visited Turner at his City Hall office and he "repeatedly denied ever being offered the money," according to the affidavit. During the interview, however, Turner rued the pervasiveness of corruption.

"If you took out all the corrupt politicians, you take out 90 percent and be left with us 10 percent," Turner said, according to the affidavit.