March 19th, 2009 | Category: press
KEVIN CULLEN
Gag (out of) order
By Kevin Cullen, Globe Columnist | March 19, 2009
There are some things in this life I assumed I’d never do.
Walk on the moon.
Dunk a basketball.
Kiss Kate Winslet.
Stick up for Chuck Turner.
But having read the decision by US Magistrate Timothy Hillman ordering
City Councilor Turner to do something he has never been very good at -
i.e., keep his trap shut - it is impossible not to feel sympathy for
Comrade Chuck and a little thing called the First Amendment.
Hillman’s ruling is very lawyerly. He cites all the relevant case law
and makes a strong argument that Turner’s disclosure of any
information prosecutors turn over to lawyers defending him against
corruption charges would make a mockery of the process.
The government already did that. Hillman’s order would make more sense
had he issued it before the feds released the video showing FBI
cooperating witness Ron Wilburn slipping Turner what Vinnie Piro once
described as a little walking around money.
Anybody who hasn’t seen that video, or read or heard talk about it, is
either dead, deaf, or blind, and in any case is so insulated from
everyday life as to preclude them from being qualified to sit in
judgment of a parking violation, much less a man’s liberty.
After the release and the media’s unquestioning dissemination of the
incriminating video, to suggest that Turner’s talking about the case
will somehow prevent him from getting a fair trial is a non sequitur.
Let’s be honest here. Chuck Turner has already been tried in the court
of public opinion, and it’s probably safe to say that, his family and
friends aside, this public court has found him guilty, based solely on
the image of him taking a wad of cash. Turner can hold a myriad of
press conferences on City Hall Plaza and point to evidence that
undermines the government’s case all he wants. Most people will
remember only the video.
So, even as Wilburn says he has misgivings about entrapping Turner,
the feds have already accomplished their goal of embarrassing, if not
ruining, Turner.
Whatever you think of Turner, the two things he has in common with
disgraced former senator Dianne Wilkerson, other than being
photographed taking cash from Wilburn, is that he’s black and
represents the most marginalized people in the city. And if you don’t
think that is relevant, I’ll have what you’re having. People who know
Turner don’t believe for a minute he’s corrupt in the old-fashioned
sense of influence peddling or taking money to fund a high life. He
doesn’t have much influence. And he doesn’t live high. Even some of
Wilkerson’s friends admit she’s been ethically challenged for years.
Turner’s problem, God love him, is that he thinks it’s 1973 and you
can still blame The Man for everything. At least he sticks up for poor
people.
It’s truly a marvelous public service that our government has
performed, wiring up an agent provocateur and dispatching him to slip
chump change into the hands of some minor politicians who just happen
to represent the poorest people in the city. Meanwhile, the most
powerful pols in town continue to practice legalized theft, grabbing
our money with both hands, handing out jobs to relatives and cronies,
padding their payrolls, boosting their salaries and pensions while
ours get slashed.
There’s no law against the way politics is practiced at City Hall and
the State House. Steal legally and you can steal at will.
Welcome to Massachusetts, a one-party state, where the pols are the
only ones having a party. We’re just paying for it.
As for the embattled city councilor, if it comes down to choosing
between him and a government that wants to limit free speech when it
suits its purposes, I’m down with Comrade Chuck.
Kevin Cullen is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at cullen@globe.com
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/03/19/gag_out_of_order/
March 19th, 2009 | Category: press
Judge issues partial gag order vs. Chuck Turner, Dianne Wilkerson
By Laurel J. Sweet | Tuesday, March 17, 2009 |
http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Politics
A federal judge has slapped a partial gag order on the high-profile
public corruption case against Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner and
former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson.
U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Timothy S. Hillman ruled
yesterday that Turner and Wilkerson are prohibited from airing the
government’s evidence against them to outside parties such as the
media, but he won’t stop them from discussing information they learn
from “an independent source.”
Read the rest of this entry »
February 20th, 2009 | Category: press
Says FBI used him to topple Turner and Wilkerson
By Adrian Walker, Globe Staff | February 20, 2009
Ronald Wilburn, the federal government’s “cooperating witness” in a bribery sting targeting former state Senator Dianne Wilkerson and Councilor Chuck Turner of Boston, said he is no longer cooperating
In an interview with the Globe, Wilburn, a businessman, said he felt he had been used by the FBI to topple a pair of prominent black politicians, while four months after the first arrest, no white officials have been charged in the investigation.
Read the rest of this entry »
February 9th, 2009 | Category: press
Number and type of cases filed raise concerns in legal community
By Jonathan Saltzman, Globe Staff | October 30, 2007
US Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, who has long honed a reputation as a hard-nosed crimefighter, has brought fewer criminal cases almost every year since he was appointed to his post in 2001 as the ranking prosecutor in Massachusetts, according to federal statistics.
Sullivan, in a series of interviews, said the number of prosecutions has declined in part because he has focused on fighting white-collar crime, which often involves complex, time-consuming cases. But other statistics show that white-collar prosecutions have plunged even more precipitously under his stewardship, falling by nearly half from 2002 to 2006.
Read the rest of this entry »
January 18th, 2009 | Category: press
Says court motion could hinder work of the fact-finder
By John C. Drake, Globe Staff | January 14, 2009
Boston City Council President Michael P. Ross yesterday abruptly terminated the council’s independent investigation into the federal bribery charges against Councilor Chuck Turner, reversing the course set by his predecessor, Maureen Feeney.
Feeney last year retained retired federal magistrate judge Charles B. Swartwood III to analyze the government’s bribery case against Turner and issue a report to the City Council, setting the stage for a potential vote on whether to seek Turner’s removal.
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January 5th, 2009 | Category: press
A recent Boston Globe article asks if the local NAACP has been missing in action when it comes to many important issues. If only the Globe actually took the time to look at what is actually going on in the community. This theme is picked up by Laura Jennings-Cranford and Richard Cranford in their reply sent to the Globe:
“In regard to your NAACP MIA article in today’s paper, perhaps you’re looking in the wrong place for activism in Boston’s black community. Have either you or John Drake ever been to one of Chuck Turner’s monthly community meetings or been inside his district office? We assure you that you would see plenty of activism there, and by the 100 plus people who are usually in attendance at these meetings. No other politician in Massachusetts has done this. Read the rest of this entry »
December 16th, 2008 | Category: press
Coming to Turner’s desense, Ramsey Clark blasts the U.S. attorney’s office
PolitickerMA.com
by Jeremy Jacobs
BOSTON- Former U.S Attorney General Ramsey Clark said Wednesday the prosecution of Chuck Turner is both politically and racially motivated and raised doubts about U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan’s case against the Boston city councilor.
Read the rest of this entry »
December 3rd, 2008 | Category: press
Chuck Turner: Not the usual federal suspect
By Howard Manly
Say this about Chuck Turner: He punches back.
The Boston city councilor has boldly proclaimed his innocence in a flurry of five press conferences held since his Nov. 21 arrest on federal charges of extortion and making false statements to FBI agents.
Read the rest of this entry »
November 27th, 2008 | Category: press, videos
On November 24th, 2008 Press Pass TV covered the Press Conference held by Boston Councilor Chuck Turner where he addressed his constituents and supporters about his arrest and defense.
Press Pass TV is an out of school time program in the Boston Public Schools that works with youth to produce civic minded video journalism. For more information see presspasstv.org.
November 25th, 2008 | Category: press
Colleagues cancel hearing over his fate
By John C. Drake, Globe Staff | November 25, 2008
Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner, facing a federal bribery charge and fighting for his political future, won a political showdown with his council colleagues yesterday, forcing them to cancel a hearing that was scheduled to discuss his fate.
Shortly after forcing the council to back down, Turner presided over an extraordinary political rally on the City Hall steps, launching a full-throated public defense of his character and attacking his perceived political enemies, especially Council President Maureen Feeney and the Boston media. He was warmly embraced by up to 250 allies who held signs and chanted their support.
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