Busted!
You may have heard one of our local solons was hauled off by the FBI yesterday. That’s State Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, seen here in Government Exhibit D, stuffing money in her bra.
It was a sting. Never mind the tax evasion, the misuse of campaign funds. Her constituents didn’t. But they had reason to bnelieve they could get her to take wads of cash. That’s her stuffing it into her bra. Advice to rotten pols. Get an attache case. Computer bag, whatever. Keep the cash out of your underwear. It never looks good. Anyway, Diane Wilkerson narrowly lost her primary to Sonia Chang-Diaz last month, and now she’s running a sticker campaign. The bra-stuffing might do her in, but with her constituency’s defiant support for her, and the fact that the Obama candidacy may draw out large numbers of her base … inner-city blacks … maybe she can still pull off a win. She’s no James Michael Curley, but it’s not like we don’t have a precedent.
Anyway, Howie Carr weighs in on who wins, who loses. And who, unfortunately, is in no position to capitalize on this:
If only the campaign for Question 1 to abolish the state income tax had cash, this would make a perfect 30-second TV spot. Apparently Dianne didn’t get the memo, that all hacks were supposed to stop stealing until Nov. 5, so as not to alert the taxpayers as to the true nature of the kleptocracy that governs this benighted state.
There’s Mayor Tom Menino and Gov. Deval Patrick, who stumped for the rotten pol when all we knew was that she was a convicted tax-and-spend tax cheat. There’s Barack Obama, for whom she stumped. Take it away, Howie:
I love the fact that the barroom in question was named “Dejavu,” because that’s what I’m getting, deja vu, reading this FBI complaint. This is almost exactly the same sting operation the FBI ran in Somerville 25 years ago. Somewhere, a guy named “Jack Callahan” is smiling.
Let’s look at some of the winners and losers here:
Attorney General Martha Coakley, loser. This happened, literally, under Martha’s nose. Martha, the Crime Watch in your neighborhood failed.
Speaker Sal DiMasi, loser. Martha is now going to have to start turning over some rocks that the culprits are hiding under, and her No. 1 target these days is Sal’s, ahem, accountant. I predict she turns up the heat.
Secretary of State Bill Galvin, winner. No need to worry about Dianne’s sticker campaign now.
Gov. Deval Patrick, winner. Now he doesn’t have to give her that $107,000-a-year job on the Industrial Accident Board after she loses next week. But we won’t forget the robo-calls he made for her before the primary.
Mayor Mumbles Menino, loser. So what if he only took a call from her, he still has some ’splainin’ to do, about why he was such a big Dianne backer in the primary campaign.
Black ministers of Roxbury, losers. Remember that sticker campaign for Sister Dianne - never mind, brethren!
Public Corruption Unit, U.S. attorney’s office, winner. This is a nice appetizer, now it’s time for the main course - the Boston Fire Department.
Sen. John Kerry, winner. Wasn’t Dianne supposed to be some big speaker at the 2004 Democratic convention here in Boston, but then got yanked at the last minute? Good move, somebody.
Sen. Barack Obama, winner. She’s been with him at a Boston event at least once, but so far we haven’t been able to come up with a picture. So far.
Don’t worry, Obama will be fine. Associations with criminals and reprobates have not been a problem.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 7:59 am on Wednesday, October 29, 2008
2 Responses to “Busted!”
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October 29th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
How long before the video clip is dismissed as racism?
October 30th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Really good to see you, RebeccaH.
How long before the video clip is dismissed as racism?
Dunno, but being a male of the species pig, I’d kinda’ like to SEE ALL of the evidence :)