Councilor Turner attends first meeting since corruption charges

December 3, 2008 12:56 PM Email| Comments (11)| Text size – +

By John C. Drake, Globe Staff

City Councilor Chuck Turner complained to his colleagues today that, because of a federal court order, he won't be able to defend himself if they consider disciplining him over his arrest on corruption charges.

Turner was the first member to take his seat this morning at the first meeting of the council since his arrest little more than two weeks ago at City Hall

Turner said he disagreed with Council President Maureen Feeney's decision to strip him of his committee assignments after his arrest, but acknowledged she had the right to do that.

But he spoke at length about Feeney's intention to call a Rules Committee meeting if he is indicted to consider whether the body should push for his removal.

"There's little doubt that I will be indicted" tomorrow, Turner said, as his 12 colleagues listened intently. "Because of the restrictions imposed on me by [US Magistrate] Judge [Timothy] Hillman, I cannot defend myself against any action you may choose to take."

He said the judge had forbidden him from speaking with fellow councilors about the federal investigation. Turner is facing charges of taking a $1,000 bribe from a nightclub operator and lying to federal investigators about it. He is the second person to be arrested in the ongoing corruption probe; the first was former state Senator Dianne Wilkerson of Boston.

Councilor Charles Yancey was the only other councilor to address Turner's predicament. He said he disagreed with Feeney's decision to strip Turner of committee assignments.

"I believe we should assume innocence rather than guilt," Yancey said.

The discussion came in response to a council agenda item in which councilors were formally informed of Feeney's decision to strip Turner of his committee assignments.

Earlier, other councilors yukked it up around the chamber as they waited for Feeney to gavel the meeting to order, but Turner sat alone for at least five minutes. Turner is not typically as gregarious as his colleagues on the council floor, but the sight of Turner sitting alone was striking.

He was later greeted with warm handshakes by the three councilors who sit on his row of council desks, John Tobin, Sam Yoon, and Yancey, the last of whom placed his arm around his embattled colleague.

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11 comments so far...

HE IS GUILTY AS SIN PRETEND ALL YOU WANT THIS GUY IS VERMIN ,REMEMBER HIM ACUSING THE U.S. TROOPS OF RAPE . HOW CAN YOU SIT THERE LIKE EVERYTHING IS O.K. ,AFRAID OF YOUR OWN SHADOWS ,MUST BE MORE GUILTY PEOPLE IN THE ROOM

Posted by red December 3, 08 01:33 PM

In a court of law innocence is assumed over guilt. In the Council, or any other club, body, etc., the membership should be free to exercise its own self governing when it comes to the misconduct of its members.

Posted by dotDude December 3, 08 01:39 PM

wah wah wah i cheated and got caught wah wah wah see ya loser!!!! go and join the other maggot

Posted by tony December 3, 08 01:50 PM

turner should do the city a favor and step down, guilty or not! he is a reflection of bad image to Boston. Pack your shit and go!

Posted by alfredo parra December 3, 08 02:23 PM

I hope he goes down. The man is a crook. People need to realize that racism did not accept the money Turner did!

Posted by joe smith December 3, 08 02:29 PM

I would check those warm handshakes, maybe there were $100 bills being passed in each one. Good old Chuck, he shows up on the job even though The Man is out to get him.

Posted by Matt December 3, 08 02:31 PM

My first job as a Local 103 electrician apprentice was the Boston City Hall.
I have been an active member of my Union for over 42 years. As an active
participant with the S.N.C.C. in Maryland from freedom rides to sit in lunch
counters along route 40 I, as a young white man, learned how to be inspired by many courageous acts of Moral fortitude in the Civil rights movement.
I met Chuck Turner in January, 1991 while he was on a picket line for jobs
for the Greater Roxbury Community. In the last almost 20 years he has stood firm for peace, justice, Democracy and Freedom. I'm proud to stand with him today!

Posted by Roger Sheppard December 3, 08 03:05 PM

Can't wait until the real story gets out. Fortunately, Chuck is an intelligent man who knows how to work this sort of scandal to his advantage.

But I'm sure those responsible are shaking in their boots right now. They'll be very sorry they ever set him up. They apparently didn't realize who they were dealing with. Feeney's quick judgment was very suspicious.

Regardless, I am really looking forward to further developments when the actual culprits and motive are exposed.

Posted by Janet December 3, 08 03:32 PM

Give me a break - why did he get to go to the meeting? If he worked in Stop & Shop and was accused of stealing money from the register, would he back at work until a trial? Nope, didn't think so!!
Next councilor going down: YANCEY!!! He's another racist just like Chuck!!

Posted by TiredofTurner December 3, 08 06:51 PM

Roger Sheppard you are a delusional fool. you and the rest of your overpaid union 'brothers' standing with a corrupt politician is no more surprising than turner taking this bribe in the first place. he will be in jail and you will have to find a new false god to worship.

Posted by come back to reality December 3, 08 09:39 PM

the affidavit basically says that the fbi sent a guy to turner, who was pretending to be a business man trying to open up a lounge in roxbury. chuck said he would support him because he was a constituent, and he supports local businesses. then wilburn (the witness with the wire) brings up supporting chuck by maybe doing a fundraiser for him, which chuck says would be great. and then wilburn swings an unsolicited, unidentified amount of cash into turner's hand, saying jovially, "take your wife out to dinner." to me, it seems like the FBI set up a councilor who (while disliked by many because of his outspoken political ideas) has always been known for his integrity. if turner didn't report that cash, then at worst its a campaign finance violation (which sucks) but certainly doesn't amount to bribery and payoff for government services charge (which is true for a lot of other politicians including wilkerson). these flimsy allegations aren't going anywhere. and they shouldn't be allowed to undo the man's reputation as a selfless servant for the boston community. did you know that turner was the guy in the 90s who forced the city to pass a law that requires all city construction jobs to include %50 boston residents, %25 minorities, %10 women. we take things like this for granted, but turner is a visionary who has helped this whole city become a more fair, racially humane place to live. i hope he continues to work from the council because he's clearly an asset to this city.

Posted by Adam December 4, 08 02:20 AM