Massachusetts State Senator Steps Down Amid Extortion Charges

November 19, 2008 6:03 p.m. EST

Boston, MA (AHN) - Senator Dianne Wilkerson of the Second Suffolk district of Massachusetts resigned from her post Wednesday, a day after she was indicted for extortion and amid an impending expulsion by colleagues.

The 53-year-old, eight-term senator notified Senate President Therese Murray through a handwritten letter that she is resigning her post effective Wednesday. After delivering the letter at 9:45 a.m., she returned to her office and started packing her things.

A federal grand jury indicted Wilkerson Tuesday on eight counts of extortion. In a sting operation, she accepted $23,500 in bribes in exchange for securing a liquor license for a nightclub in her district and for pushing a legislation to develop her hometown, Roxbury.

Colleagues in the senate passed a resolution on Oct. 30, two days after Wilkerson's arrest, asking her to resign.

The state senate ethics committee was supposed to release a report on Wilkerson Wednesday and her expulsion was imminent.