Dianne Wilkerson says she can’t afford lawyer

Dianne Wilkerson says she can’t afford lawyer
By Laurel J. Sweet | Monday, November 17, 2008 | http://www.bostonherald.com

State Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, whose checkered career crashed last month when an FBI photo of her allegedly stuffing $1,000 into her bra was made public, now tells a federal judge she’s too poor for her lawyer.

Attorney Max D. Stern is sticking by Wilkerson, however, and Friday asked U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Timothy S. Hillman to appoint him the charity case.

Hillman has not yet responded. Reached yesterday, Stern declined to comment.

Since her arrest Oct. 28 on extortion and public corruption charges, all new court filings - including the lame-duck pol’s financial affidavit supporting her want of legal aid - have been completely or partially sealed.

Wilkerson, 53, whose days on Beacon Hill are numbered with this month’s election of political neophyte Sonia Chang-Diaz, 30, of Jamaica Plain to succeed her in the 2nd Suffolk Senate seat, is not due back in court until Dec. 8 for a probable cause hearing. She’s been keeping court staff plenty busy in the meantime.

Little remains intact of the four-page conditions of release Hillman set for Wilkerson less than three weeks ago after she was accused of taking $23,500 in bribes from undercover operatives to sway a real estate deal and secure a nightclub liquor license.

She was ordered to maintain her residence in Boston, but is now asking Hillman to allow her to live at two additional addresses, both of which are sealed. A ruling from Hillman is still pending.

Wilkerson was originally forbidden to have contact with any potential witnesses in her case. But Hillman has relaxed that condition to let her mingle with 17 of the government’s witnesses, whose names are all sealed. The two sides may not discuss the ongoing investigation.

She was barred from tearing up any piece of paper or document in her State House office or at her home, including personal bills and newspaper advertisements. Now, however, Hillman is permitting Wilkerson to “separate any documents that she wishes to dispose of,” and letting prosecutors sort through the waste for anything they want to keep as potential evidence.
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