Boston.com via Ronald Hardy at Green Party Watch (excerpt):
A federal judge today sentenced Chuck Turner to three years behind bars for accepting a $1,000 bribe, a stinging rebuke to the former Boston city councilor.
US District Judge Douglas P. Woodlock rejected an appeal for leniency by defense attorneys, who had asked that the 70-year-old civil rights crusader receive probation and be spared prison because of his more than four decades of service as a community activist and elected official.
Woodlock’s stiff sentence came at the urging of prosecutors, who accused Turner of lying on the witness stand and making a mockery of public office and the criminal justice system. They had sought a prison term of 33 to 41 months.
After a jury convicted him in October of attempted extortion and three counts of providing false statements to FBI agents, Turner maintained his innocence and blamed his conviction on a government conspiracy to discredit elected officials of African-American descent.
And from Open Media Boston, titled “How You Can Support Chuck Turner:
http://www.openmediaboston.org/node/1644
Supporters of Chuck Turner should head over to the Moakley US Courthouse on Tuesday at 2 p.m. for the former Boston City Councilor’s sentencing hearing in front of US District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock on charges of taking a $1,000 bribe in 2007. Turner’s in a tough spot and needs all the moral support he can get. According to the local press, he is looking at doing 33-41 months in jail for a crime that I still don’t think he committed – generally agreeing, as I do, with the analysis that Turner was entrapped (at significant expense) by the FBI at the behest of former US Attorney Michael Sullivan … a Republican with an ax or three to grind. But, I’ve already spilled much digital ink on this topic in the past, and I don’t think rehashing my views on the matter is going to change anything at this point. And there’s no question that it’s going to be tough going for Turner in front of Woodlock – with US Attorneys John T. McNeil and James P. Dowden pushing very publicly this week to make an example of him. The only thing that might ameliorate a bad situation for Turner at this late date would be for people to write letters in his support. The letters will be turned over to the presiding judge by Turner’s attorney prior to his hearing.
So if you’d like to help Turner out in an even more concrete way than showing up at his hearing, send your letter (or email) of support by Tuesday morning to
John Pavlos
Pavlos & Vitali Law Offices
142 Main St.
#406
Brockton MA 02301
[email protected]
Otherwise, stay tuned to see if Turner’s bid to be reinstated to his City Council seat finds favor with US District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf before the special election is held to find his replacement. Would be pretty wild if that happened, and would throw a major monkey wrench into the current horse race for Turner’s District 7 council seat.
[So everyone write letters!]