Boston Area News

(AP) The attorney general and the head of the state's campaign finance office filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, alleging she had not reported nearly $27,000 in donations and had more than $18,000 in unexplained personal expenses.

The lawsuit, filed in Suffolk Superior Court, alleges the Boston Democrat and her former campaign treasurer, Ajibola Osinubi, violated state campaign finance laws in seven ways from 2000 to 2001.

Among them were:
--$26,935 in contributions never reported to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
--$13,503 in expenditures never or underreported to the agency.
--$20,264 in reimbursements, including $18,277 in personal reimbursements, for which Wilkerson has been unable to provide a legitimate campaign-related purpose.
--$15,550 in so-called consulting fees to four people, including Wilkerson's sons Cornell and Kendall Mills, for which the senator has been unable to provide a legitimate campaign-related purpose.
--$3,200 in contributions from six political action committees that were not reported to the OCPF.

Wilkerson, an attorney and vice chairman of the Senate Financial Services Committee, was previously sentenced to house arrest in December 1997 after pleading guilty for failing to pay $51,000 in federal income taxes in the early 1990s.

In 2001, Wilkerson was fined $1,000 by the State Ethics Commission for failing to properly report that a bank she lobbied for as senator was paying her more than $20,000 a year as a consultant.

She has also been sued by her condominium association for back condo fees and had her automobile towed for running up $1,300 in parking tickets.

A spokeswoman said she was between meetings and not immediately available for comment.

Attorney General Tom Reilly and Michael Sullivan, director of the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, said in a joint statement that Wilkerson was notified of the alleged discrepancies in August 2002 but chose not to explain them.

The statement said the senator was "unable or unwilling to provide such information" when contacted anew by Reilly's office.

The seven-count complaint seeks a court order requiring Wilkerson to amend her 2000 and 2001 campaign finance reports, to the pay the state for "all contributions for which she is unable to properly disclose the contributor," as well as all unexplained expenditures and for civil penalties and investigative costs.

In 1998, Wilkerson previously entered into an agreement with the OCPF and attorney general resolving allegations of unexplained expenditures and undisclosed political action committee contributions.

She and her committee agreed to pay back all unaccounted expenditures and to pay civil penalties totaling $11,500.

Statement Released by Sen. Wilkerson's office:
The Wilkerson Committee through its counsel, Attorney Thomas R. Kiley, was notified this morning by the Attorney General of his intent to file a complaint. It is our understanding that this is a civil complaint regarding record-keeping dating back to 2000 and 2001. We have not had time to review the complaint but will respond within the 20 days allotted to do so. We are confident that the outstanding matters will be fully resolved with complete and sufficient documentation. Most of the requested documentation listed in the complaint has already been submitted to the Attorney General. We look forward to resolving this matter expeditiously.

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