Ashcroft Looms Behind Indictment, City Councilor Alleges
Posted By Joe Palazzolo On July 2, 2009 @ 12:59 pm In News | Comments Disabled
A Boston city councilor charged with extortion is accusing former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan of going after him to get in good with former Attorney General John Ashcroft, for whom Sullivan now works. The Associated press has the story [1].
[2]John Ashcroft
A bit of background: Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner, a member of the Green-Rainbow Party, was arrested last year after undercover FBI agents photographed him allegedly accepting a $1,000 payoff. Turner, who is also charged with making false statements, is up for election this fall and has refused to relinquish his seat.
Before a hearing Thursday, he wrote that Sullivan sought indictments against him and former Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, who is charged with bribery, in return for a lucrative business deal.
“I personally believe that former Attorney General Ashcroft said to Sullivan that if he could take down Senator Wilkerson and myself, he would put up the money to open the firm of Ashcroft and Sullivan in Boston where they could try to secure business for Halliburton to serve as a base while Sullivan prepares for his run for governor,” Turner wrote.
And Turner went further:
The councilor said prosecutions in other states were similarly biased by three unnamed former U.S. attorneys who now work for the Ashcroft Law Firm [3]. ”In other words, the quid pro quo for taking us down was the money to open the office,” Turner wrote.
Catherine Hanaway from the Eastern District of Missouri, Johnny Sutton from the Western District of Texas and John Ratcliffe from the Eastern District of Texas all teamed up with Ashcroft in April and May. Sullivan didn’t immediately respond to a call and e-mail from the AP. Efforts to reach the other former U.S. attorneys were also unsuccessful, the wire service reported.
Both Turner and Wilkerson have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
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