Ex-Boston official gets 3 years in bribe case

[The Northerner]

BOSTON -- Former Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner has been sentenced to three years in prison for taking a $1,000 bribe and then lying about it to FBI agents.

After his sentencing on Tuesday, Turner insisted he's innocent and blamed "political persecution" for his conviction.

Turner was sentenced for taking a $1,000 bribe and then lying about it to FBI agents. Judge Douglas Woodlock also found he had committed perjury when he testified that he didn't remember a meeting with a government witness who gave him the money.

Prosecutors said Turner accepted a wad of cash in 2007 during a handshake with a businessman who was seeking help in getting a liquor license and was cooperating with the FBI. They had asked for a sentence of 33 to 41 months.

Turner's lawyers asked for probation, citing his public service and advocacy for poor and working people.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/25/AR2011012504736.html