"In court, Wilkerson pleads not guilty; Must let officials study documents" by Jonathan Saltzman and Andrew Ryan, Globe Staff | December 9, 2008
Former state senator Dianne Wilkerson declared her innocence yesterday in US District Court, telling a judge in a firm voice that she was "not guilty" of eight counts of attempted extortion in a bribery investigation that has rocked the State House and Boston City Hall.
Brushing strands of hair from her face as she rose to her feet, Wilkerson entered the plea during a four-minute arraignment on charges stemming from her arrest Oct. 28 and subsequent indictment last month. US Magistrate Judge Timothy S. Hillman also discussed an agreement that prevents the Roxbury Democrat from destroying documents that might relate to the case.
"There was a concern there might be document destruction in this case," Assistant US Attorney John T. McNeil explained after the hearing. Under a Nov. 14 court order, Wilkerson must allow prosecutors to review all documents that she removed from her State House and district offices before anything is discarded.
The order relaxes one that Hillman issued the day of Wilkerson's arrest requiring her to preserve all documents....
WHY is she being CUT a BREAK?
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Prosecutors have also initiated a forfeiture proceeding against Wilkerson to recover the cash they say she took during the undercover operation. "We want it back," McNeil said....
So when the Feds and law-enforcement gonna get after Bush and the war looters?
Wilkerson entered her plea before an unusual group of spectators - about a dozen judges, prosecutors, and defense lawyers from Macedonia who were visiting the United States to get a taste of the US judicial system.
Next stop Gitmo?
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