Nov 24, 2008 6:37 pm US/Eastern
City Council Postpones Meeting On Turner's Future
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Boston city councilor Chuck Turner at Monday's rally.
WBZ
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The FBI released this surveillance photo Friday which, they say, shows Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner accepting a $1,000 bribe.
The Boston City Council postponed a meeting Monday afternoon to discuss what to do about Chuck Turner.
Turner, a councilor from Roxbury, was
arrested by federal authorities Friday for allegedly taking a $1,000 bribe. He claims he is innocent.
Turner held a public rally with supporters in front of City Hall Monday afternoon. He said his lawyers advised him not to talk specifically about the allegations.
Instead, he spent much of his time attacking the news media for, in his view, harassing him. "Obviously the press is working to publically destroy my reputation before I even have an opportunity to have a day in court...they are criminals. Why aren't they being arrested."
City Council President Maureen Feeney pulled back from her plan to hold a special Council meeting this afternoon to discuss the panel's legal options. "This council is not a court of law. It is not our role to find guilt or innocence...I believe it would be premature to take any decisive action today on Councilor Turner's future."
But Feeney listed the listed legal options she says are available to the council:
- Call for resignation
- Vote to censure
- Determine Turner "unqualified"
- Take no action
She also plans to create a special committee on ethics.
Turner said he was pleased Feeney postponed the meeting.
He is less than pleased she temporarily stripped him of committee assignments including chairmanship of education and human rights committees. "My constitutional rights were being violated by the city Council President by calling a hearing and stripping me of my leadership positions," shouted Turner.
Feeney said she will empower the Rules Committee she chairs to investigate the question of qualifications.
She says if Turner's indicted by a Grand Jury, the Committee will appoint a fact finder to recommend further action.
Feeney said she wasn't going to let Turner dictate what the council should do. "This body is not and will not be a stage for political theater," she said.
Turner
claims he's the victim of a "sting operation" designed to entrap him.
Read The Criminal ComplaintOver the weekend, Turner said he would have more to say about an FBI photo that appears to show him taking the cash.
He has set up a
Web site for his supporters.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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