1 00:00:03,568 --> 00:00:04,569 - She was the rising star 2 00:00:04,700 --> 00:00:05,570 of Boston's Black leadership, 3 00:00:05,701 --> 00:00:07,007 destined, some thought, 4 00:00:07,137 --> 00:00:09,052 to become the city's first Black mayor. 5 00:00:09,183 --> 00:00:12,534 - We expect our politician to provide us honest services, 6 00:00:12,664 --> 00:00:14,971 and she was not doing that. 7 00:00:15,102 --> 00:00:16,494 - That's what democracy encourages. 8 00:00:16,625 --> 00:00:18,235 We fight it out here. 9 00:00:18,366 --> 00:00:20,846 - She was in a luncheon. I handed her the money, 10 00:00:20,977 --> 00:00:22,718 and she held it for a few minutes 11 00:00:22,848 --> 00:00:24,502 and then just stuck her hand up 12 00:00:24,633 --> 00:00:25,764 and shoved it in the bra. 13 00:00:25,895 --> 00:00:27,723 [suspenseful music] 14 00:00:27,853 --> 00:00:30,030 - Bribing a state senator 15 00:00:30,160 --> 00:00:33,207 and the betrayal of the trust of the community-- 16 00:00:33,337 --> 00:00:35,296 I'm not sure people quite realize 17 00:00:35,426 --> 00:00:37,733 the damage that corruption has 18 00:00:37,863 --> 00:00:39,909 on a community. 19 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:41,345 - The cooperator was hesitant. 20 00:00:41,476 --> 00:00:44,740 He said, "Hey, she is the top person 21 00:00:44,870 --> 00:00:46,481 "in our community. 22 00:00:46,611 --> 00:00:49,832 "She is the highest-ranking African American. 23 00:00:49,962 --> 00:00:51,573 She's a state senator." 24 00:00:51,703 --> 00:00:53,009 - I actually am from Boston 25 00:00:53,140 --> 00:00:55,620 and represent the capital city. 26 00:00:55,751 --> 00:00:58,232 - If that's truly the best you've got in the community, 27 00:00:58,362 --> 00:01:00,973 isn't that a problem? 28 00:01:01,104 --> 00:01:03,106 - You forget, political corruption 29 00:01:03,237 --> 00:01:06,153 is a serious crime. It's sort of like a cancer. 30 00:01:06,283 --> 00:01:07,502 - She did a lot for the community. 31 00:01:07,632 --> 00:01:08,851 - She did. 32 00:01:08,981 --> 00:01:10,374 - She just also did a lot for herself. 33 00:01:10,505 --> 00:01:15,901 ♪ 34 00:01:17,164 --> 00:01:19,862 - In the FBI, we make a lot of headlines. 35 00:01:19,992 --> 00:01:22,995 ♪ 36 00:01:23,126 --> 00:01:26,869 Drug busts, mob stings, 37 00:01:26,999 --> 00:01:29,524 terrorist takedowns... 38 00:01:29,654 --> 00:01:31,265 - Get down! Get down! 39 00:01:31,395 --> 00:01:33,093 - We understand why people want 40 00:01:33,223 --> 00:01:34,006 to tell stories about us. 41 00:01:34,137 --> 00:01:35,660 - Mark it. - Freeze! 42 00:01:35,791 --> 00:01:37,097 - FBI. - FBI! 43 00:01:37,227 --> 00:01:38,533 - Action! 44 00:01:38,663 --> 00:01:41,579 - But they don't know the half of it. 45 00:01:41,710 --> 00:01:43,625 What really goes down? 46 00:01:43,755 --> 00:01:46,018 We save that for each other, 47 00:01:46,149 --> 00:01:48,325 when we're talking agent to agent. 48 00:01:48,456 --> 00:01:51,198 ♪ 49 00:01:51,328 --> 00:01:54,288 This is "FBI True." 50 00:02:00,642 --> 00:02:03,514 [uneasy music] 51 00:02:03,645 --> 00:02:07,866 ♪ 52 00:02:07,997 --> 00:02:09,346 - Cindy Coppola 53 00:02:09,477 --> 00:02:11,783 is a 23-year veteran of the FBI. 54 00:02:11,914 --> 00:02:14,351 She worked on cases that included organized crime 55 00:02:14,482 --> 00:02:15,744 and terrorism 56 00:02:15,874 --> 00:02:18,573 and took part in multinational investigations 57 00:02:18,703 --> 00:02:20,836 into drug trafficking and money laundering. 58 00:02:20,966 --> 00:02:22,794 Coppola finished her career with the Los Angeles division, 59 00:02:22,925 --> 00:02:24,056 running two offices, 60 00:02:24,187 --> 00:02:26,320 supervising investigations 61 00:02:26,450 --> 00:02:28,017 and providing undercover security 62 00:02:28,148 --> 00:02:28,887 for special events. 63 00:02:29,018 --> 00:02:33,153 ♪ 64 00:02:33,283 --> 00:02:34,458 - So you guys were telling me 65 00:02:34,589 --> 00:02:37,200 about the big case that you guys worked on 66 00:02:37,331 --> 00:02:38,897 with--the subject was Dianne Wilkerson. 67 00:02:39,028 --> 00:02:40,116 - Yep. - Right? 68 00:02:40,247 --> 00:02:41,987 - Wilkerson was a trailblazer, 69 00:02:42,118 --> 00:02:43,250 the first Black woman to be a partner 70 00:02:43,380 --> 00:02:45,730 in a major law firm in Boston 71 00:02:45,861 --> 00:02:47,645 and the first Black woman elected to the state senate, 72 00:02:47,776 --> 00:02:49,473 in 1992. 73 00:02:49,603 --> 00:02:51,083 - This was the biggest public corruption case 74 00:02:51,214 --> 00:02:52,868 in the bureau at the time. 75 00:02:52,998 --> 00:02:54,783 - Julia Cowley 76 00:02:54,913 --> 00:02:58,221 was first assigned to the FBI's bank fraud squad, 77 00:02:58,352 --> 00:03:00,658 where she investigated white-collar crimes. 78 00:03:00,789 --> 00:03:03,531 Cowley later transferred to Public Corruption, 79 00:03:03,661 --> 00:03:06,316 working on cases that involved various public officials, 80 00:03:06,447 --> 00:03:09,363 from politicians to the police. 81 00:03:09,493 --> 00:03:12,366 - So how did her name get brought to you guys? 82 00:03:12,496 --> 00:03:14,150 - So we had an FBI agent 83 00:03:14,281 --> 00:03:15,195 who was handling this cooperator 84 00:03:15,325 --> 00:03:16,674 on another case. - Sure. 85 00:03:16,805 --> 00:03:18,415 - And during that case-- 86 00:03:18,546 --> 00:03:19,199 - Another public corruption case, or... 87 00:03:19,329 --> 00:03:20,287 - Another public corruption case. 88 00:03:20,417 --> 00:03:22,158 - Yeah. - Krista Corr spent 89 00:03:22,289 --> 00:03:23,812 her career as a special agent 90 00:03:23,942 --> 00:03:25,596 in the Boston FBI office, 91 00:03:25,727 --> 00:03:27,207 where she was initially assigned 92 00:03:27,337 --> 00:03:29,600 to the Italian organized crime squad. 93 00:03:29,731 --> 00:03:31,994 She later joined the public corruption squad, 94 00:03:32,124 --> 00:03:34,257 where she remained for 26 years. 95 00:03:34,388 --> 00:03:36,651 - And during that case, the cooperator said 96 00:03:36,781 --> 00:03:38,609 to whoever he was talking to in the tape, 97 00:03:38,740 --> 00:03:40,002 "Oh, yeah, I'll have to give Dianne a call." 98 00:03:40,132 --> 00:03:42,918 So the handling agent... 99 00:03:43,048 --> 00:03:44,615 He asked him, "Who's Dianne?" "Well, Dianne Wilkerson." 100 00:03:44,746 --> 00:03:46,269 "Well, why would you call Dianne Wilkerson?" 101 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:48,576 "Oh, because to get stuff done, 102 00:03:48,706 --> 00:03:50,186 you have to call her." "Well, do you pay her?" 103 00:03:50,317 --> 00:03:51,535 "Yeah." "How do you know?" 104 00:03:51,666 --> 00:03:53,755 - Standing. - "Well, because I've watched 105 00:03:53,885 --> 00:03:55,800 somebody else pay her twice." 106 00:03:55,930 --> 00:03:59,021 - His business partner had paid Dianne in the past, 107 00:03:59,151 --> 00:04:00,457 and he'd been present. 108 00:04:00,588 --> 00:04:01,328 We wouldn't have known about this. 109 00:04:01,458 --> 00:04:03,155 This all just came up in passing. 110 00:04:03,286 --> 00:04:06,463 This was normal business for him. 111 00:04:06,594 --> 00:04:08,030 The cooperator didn't even think about saying 112 00:04:08,160 --> 00:04:10,162 to the FBI, "Oh, by the way, 113 00:04:10,293 --> 00:04:12,643 I paid a senator bribes." 114 00:04:12,774 --> 00:04:14,166 - I think that that's what makes this 115 00:04:14,297 --> 00:04:16,430 such an incredibly proud city 116 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:18,519 and one that's steeped in the principles 117 00:04:18,649 --> 00:04:20,695 of the democracy, that that's what democracy encourages. 118 00:04:20,825 --> 00:04:21,826 We fight it out here. 119 00:04:21,957 --> 00:04:25,700 ♪ 120 00:04:25,830 --> 00:04:28,572 - The cooperator was looking at opening this-- 121 00:04:28,703 --> 00:04:30,705 it was called Dejavu. It was a supper club 122 00:04:30,835 --> 00:04:33,490 in this new development in Dianne's territory. 123 00:04:33,621 --> 00:04:35,362 And I guess he'd applied for a liquor license, 124 00:04:35,492 --> 00:04:37,494 been denied, and so he said, 125 00:04:37,625 --> 00:04:39,017 "Well, you know, I could call Dianne, 126 00:04:39,148 --> 00:04:40,845 and maybe she can help me." 127 00:04:40,976 --> 00:04:42,673 So that's what we pursued. 128 00:04:42,804 --> 00:04:45,676 Initially, I was doing all of this background research. 129 00:04:45,807 --> 00:04:49,289 And she had a very checkered kind of history already. 130 00:04:49,419 --> 00:04:52,727 She, you know, had a 1997 federal tax conviction. 131 00:04:52,857 --> 00:04:55,164 The office of campaign and political finance 132 00:04:55,295 --> 00:04:57,297 in Boston had multiple cases, 133 00:04:57,427 --> 00:04:58,820 like they had a two-year cycle, 134 00:04:58,950 --> 00:05:00,952 and every two years, they had another case on her. 135 00:05:01,083 --> 00:05:02,780 - You forget, political corruption 136 00:05:02,911 --> 00:05:06,262 is a serious crime. It's sort of like a cancer. 137 00:05:06,393 --> 00:05:08,264 It may start out small, but then it spreads. 138 00:05:08,395 --> 00:05:09,874 And you could see that in her. 139 00:05:10,005 --> 00:05:12,050 ♪ 140 00:05:12,181 --> 00:05:14,096 - This is craziness. 141 00:05:14,226 --> 00:05:15,967 She has federal charges against her. 142 00:05:16,098 --> 00:05:17,142 How is that allowed? 143 00:05:17,273 --> 00:05:18,753 How did she stay in office? 144 00:05:18,883 --> 00:05:21,799 - Well, she did a lot for the minority community. 145 00:05:21,930 --> 00:05:25,107 - This city is gonna be browner and Blacker 146 00:05:25,237 --> 00:05:27,065 and more yellow in the next seven years 147 00:05:27,196 --> 00:05:28,328 than it's ever been. 148 00:05:28,457 --> 00:05:30,373 We're gonna be 50% of the population, 149 00:05:30,504 --> 00:05:31,983 and so we've got to deal with that. 150 00:05:32,114 --> 00:05:35,073 - She was very much a proponent 151 00:05:35,204 --> 00:05:37,249 of African Americans... - Sure. 152 00:05:37,380 --> 00:05:38,250 - And they-- in the community. 153 00:05:38,381 --> 00:05:40,209 - I want a president who believes 154 00:05:40,340 --> 00:05:42,080 that health care access ought to depend 155 00:05:42,211 --> 00:05:45,475 on whether you need it, not whether you can afford it. 156 00:05:45,606 --> 00:05:46,955 - So the community took a liking to her. 157 00:05:47,085 --> 00:05:48,173 - Yes, yes. - Yeah. 158 00:05:48,304 --> 00:05:49,174 - And she did a lot for the community. 159 00:05:49,305 --> 00:05:50,741 - She did. - If you think 160 00:05:50,872 --> 00:05:52,961 that you can eliminate health disparities 161 00:05:53,091 --> 00:05:55,659 without talking about race, 162 00:05:55,790 --> 00:05:57,487 keep thinking. 163 00:05:57,618 --> 00:05:58,793 - She's gonna help other people, 164 00:05:58,923 --> 00:06:00,272 but she's gonna help herself 165 00:06:00,403 --> 00:06:01,361 at the same time. - Yeah. 166 00:06:05,452 --> 00:06:07,062 - The agents ask the cooperator 167 00:06:07,192 --> 00:06:08,455 on the other corruption case 168 00:06:08,585 --> 00:06:10,500 to set up a meeting with Wilkerson 169 00:06:10,631 --> 00:06:13,111 to see if she will accept a bribe, as he claims. 170 00:06:13,242 --> 00:06:16,288 - The cooperator was hesitant. He said, "Hey, she is 171 00:06:16,419 --> 00:06:19,640 "the top person in our community. 172 00:06:19,770 --> 00:06:23,252 "She is the highest-ranking African American. 173 00:06:23,383 --> 00:06:24,862 She's a state senator." 174 00:06:24,993 --> 00:06:26,777 ♪ 175 00:06:26,908 --> 00:06:29,954 And I remember the handler basically saying to him, 176 00:06:30,085 --> 00:06:33,044 "If that's truly the best you've got in the community, 177 00:06:33,175 --> 00:06:35,351 isn't that a problem?" - Yeah. 178 00:06:35,482 --> 00:06:37,832 - And the cooperator went, "Oh, yeah," 179 00:06:37,962 --> 00:06:40,617 and that kind of convinced him to say, "You know what? 180 00:06:40,748 --> 00:06:41,792 I think you're right." 181 00:06:41,923 --> 00:06:45,796 ♪ 182 00:06:45,927 --> 00:06:48,103 - The cooperator reaches out to Wilkerson 183 00:06:48,233 --> 00:06:49,626 to set up a meeting, 184 00:06:49,757 --> 00:06:50,975 and because of their shared history, 185 00:06:51,106 --> 00:06:52,803 Wilkerson accepts. 186 00:06:52,933 --> 00:06:56,546 - So he met with her to help get this liquor license. 187 00:06:56,677 --> 00:06:58,287 If she doesn't take the money, 188 00:06:58,418 --> 00:06:59,593 then we don't have a case, right? 189 00:06:59,723 --> 00:07:01,638 Yeah, right at that first meeting, 190 00:07:01,769 --> 00:07:03,205 he handed her some money, and she took it. 191 00:07:08,384 --> 00:07:09,690 She was actually very disappointed. 192 00:07:09,820 --> 00:07:11,866 And then he kind of recovered, and he said, "Hey, 193 00:07:11,996 --> 00:07:13,302 and there's more where that comes from," 194 00:07:13,433 --> 00:07:14,869 you know. - Sure. 195 00:07:14,999 --> 00:07:16,392 - "I'll meet you again, and I'll take care of you." 196 00:07:18,786 --> 00:07:20,701 - After Wilkerson accepts the bribe, 197 00:07:20,831 --> 00:07:23,268 the public corruption squad must confirm 198 00:07:23,399 --> 00:07:26,228 that this is truly a pattern of corrupt activity for her. 199 00:07:26,358 --> 00:07:28,883 The cooperator meets with Wilkerson a second time 200 00:07:29,013 --> 00:07:31,494 in a restaurant near her senate office. 201 00:07:31,625 --> 00:07:33,409 - Our whole squad would participate... 202 00:07:33,540 --> 00:07:35,237 - Okay. - And do some surveillance, 203 00:07:35,367 --> 00:07:37,631 so we'd be in the restaurant 204 00:07:37,761 --> 00:07:40,590 at another table, watching or listening. 205 00:07:40,721 --> 00:07:42,766 - We watched the cooperator go in, 206 00:07:42,897 --> 00:07:44,812 and she went in the lounge, met him in there, 207 00:07:44,942 --> 00:07:47,075 said, "I'm doing this for you, I'm doing that," 208 00:07:47,205 --> 00:07:48,598 and he said, "Oh, great," and he handed her the money. 209 00:07:48,729 --> 00:07:51,079 And she held it for a few minutes 210 00:07:51,209 --> 00:07:52,950 and then just stuck her hand up 211 00:07:53,081 --> 00:07:54,038 and shoved it in the bra 212 00:07:54,169 --> 00:07:56,084 and moved on. 213 00:08:00,915 --> 00:08:03,221 - Wilkerson accepts two more cash bribes 214 00:08:03,352 --> 00:08:05,136 from the FBI cooperator 215 00:08:05,267 --> 00:08:08,618 and begins making moves at the local and state level 216 00:08:08,749 --> 00:08:10,054 to help obtain a liquor license 217 00:08:10,185 --> 00:08:11,447 for the supper club. 218 00:08:11,578 --> 00:08:13,318 - She did all sorts of things. 219 00:08:13,449 --> 00:08:15,538 She not only called the mayor, 220 00:08:15,669 --> 00:08:17,497 called the president of the city council, 221 00:08:17,627 --> 00:08:19,499 called the joint committee chairman 222 00:08:19,629 --> 00:08:20,674 in charge of licensure... - Sure. 223 00:08:20,804 --> 00:08:22,457 - Normal liquor license, if it's, like, you know, 224 00:08:22,589 --> 00:08:24,460 in the city like here in Boston, 225 00:08:24,591 --> 00:08:26,288 they've gotta be 2, $300,000. 226 00:08:26,418 --> 00:08:27,419 - Yes, liquor licenses are... 227 00:08:27,550 --> 00:08:28,595 - Before he even had a business. 228 00:08:28,725 --> 00:08:30,379 - 250, $300,000 at the time. 229 00:08:30,510 --> 00:08:32,642 But there was this thing called a special liquor license-- 230 00:08:32,773 --> 00:08:35,688 it was for disadvantaged areas, 231 00:08:35,818 --> 00:08:37,472 empowerment zones, things like that-- 232 00:08:37,604 --> 00:08:38,692 where you can get a liquor license 233 00:08:38,822 --> 00:08:39,823 for $2,900 234 00:08:39,953 --> 00:08:40,955 plus a dollar a seat, 235 00:08:41,085 --> 00:08:42,609 so really cheap. 236 00:08:42,739 --> 00:08:44,174 They didn't have any more of these. 237 00:08:44,306 --> 00:08:48,310 So what she eventually did was pushed and prodded 238 00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:51,879 and got senate, house, 239 00:08:52,009 --> 00:08:54,621 Boston Licensing Board, city council, her, 240 00:08:54,751 --> 00:08:56,884 all a big meeting, and they agreed 241 00:08:57,014 --> 00:08:58,799 that the City of Boston 242 00:08:58,929 --> 00:09:00,627 would sponsor what's called a home rule petition 243 00:09:00,757 --> 00:09:03,499 to get 40 new special licenses 244 00:09:03,630 --> 00:09:04,805 for all alcohol... - For the city. 245 00:09:04,935 --> 00:09:06,589 - And 30 beer and wine 246 00:09:06,720 --> 00:09:08,548 and that she would get four of them. 247 00:09:08,678 --> 00:09:11,115 And Dianne, as part of what she was doing 248 00:09:11,246 --> 00:09:13,727 to help us get a license, she said, 249 00:09:13,857 --> 00:09:15,772 "Oh, I'm gonna call Chuck Turner 250 00:09:15,903 --> 00:09:17,644 and have him hold a public hearing." 251 00:09:18,862 --> 00:09:20,995 Chuck Turner was a city councilor. 252 00:09:21,125 --> 00:09:24,520 He was in her district, and he was a muckraker. 253 00:09:24,651 --> 00:09:26,087 - Elected to the Boston City Council 254 00:09:26,217 --> 00:09:27,610 in 1999, 255 00:09:27,741 --> 00:09:29,786 Turner quickly earned a reputation 256 00:09:29,917 --> 00:09:33,094 for his outspoken actions and abrasive personality. 257 00:09:33,224 --> 00:09:36,750 - I was rushing so fast 258 00:09:36,880 --> 00:09:41,058 to get dressed to avoid more harassment 259 00:09:41,189 --> 00:09:42,233 by the police. 260 00:09:42,364 --> 00:09:44,540 - So she called him, 261 00:09:44,671 --> 00:09:46,063 and he was gonna hold a hearing 262 00:09:46,194 --> 00:09:48,936 as to why there's not more minority liquor licenses 263 00:09:49,066 --> 00:09:51,939 and to really make a big splash in the press. 264 00:09:52,069 --> 00:09:54,898 And then, at one point, this cooperator said on tape, 265 00:09:55,029 --> 00:09:57,814 "Do you want me to go meet with Chuck, too?" 266 00:09:57,945 --> 00:09:59,555 and she said, "Yes. Yes, I think you should." 267 00:09:59,686 --> 00:10:02,906 So he went down and paid him $500, 268 00:10:03,037 --> 00:10:04,386 which Chuck took. 269 00:10:06,954 --> 00:10:08,695 - And there was no questions asked. 270 00:10:08,825 --> 00:10:10,610 - Yeah, he said, "I wanna shake your hand 271 00:10:10,740 --> 00:10:11,611 and thank you very much," 272 00:10:11,741 --> 00:10:12,960 and he had the money in his hand, 273 00:10:13,090 --> 00:10:14,396 and he shook it. 274 00:10:14,526 --> 00:10:16,441 Now, if I had money in my hand and I shook your hand, 275 00:10:16,572 --> 00:10:18,182 and there was something in, you'd go, "Ooh, what's that?" 276 00:10:18,313 --> 00:10:19,270 Right? - [laughs] 277 00:10:19,401 --> 00:10:20,794 - There was none of that. 278 00:10:20,924 --> 00:10:21,577 - No, of course. - It was all taped. 279 00:10:21,708 --> 00:10:22,839 There was none of that. 280 00:10:22,970 --> 00:10:24,319 So he was comfortable 281 00:10:24,449 --> 00:10:25,494 taking the money. 282 00:10:31,805 --> 00:10:33,589 - The FBI now has two politicians 283 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:35,591 taking bribes on camera, 284 00:10:35,722 --> 00:10:37,245 but as they build their case, 285 00:10:37,375 --> 00:10:38,986 they encounter an issue. 286 00:10:39,116 --> 00:10:41,336 - We had a big problem with this cooperator, 287 00:10:41,466 --> 00:10:42,729 and he came in one day, 288 00:10:42,859 --> 00:10:44,426 and he plopped the recording equipment down, 289 00:10:44,556 --> 00:10:46,602 and he said, "I'm done. 290 00:10:46,733 --> 00:10:48,822 "I need you to pay my rent. 291 00:10:48,952 --> 00:10:51,128 If you don't pay my rent, I'm not doing this anymore." 292 00:10:51,259 --> 00:10:54,088 So what we did was, 293 00:10:54,218 --> 00:10:55,829 let's introduce an undercover. 294 00:10:55,959 --> 00:10:57,004 - Get him out. - Yeah, get him out, 295 00:10:57,134 --> 00:10:59,484 and then we have all control in the world, 296 00:10:59,615 --> 00:11:00,529 'cause the undercover's an FBI agent. 297 00:11:00,660 --> 00:11:03,053 So we had one agent who-- 298 00:11:03,184 --> 00:11:06,056 actually, he hadn't even gone to undercover school yet. 299 00:11:06,187 --> 00:11:08,668 Very nervous, but he was African American, 300 00:11:08,798 --> 00:11:12,062 very likeable, so we sent him in, 301 00:11:12,193 --> 00:11:16,066 and I think we said he was the cooperator's nephew 302 00:11:16,197 --> 00:11:17,111 and he... - Okay. 303 00:11:17,241 --> 00:11:19,287 - Wanted to get involved 304 00:11:19,417 --> 00:11:20,854 in the liquor license thing. 305 00:11:20,984 --> 00:11:23,247 ♪ 306 00:11:23,378 --> 00:11:26,076 - In October, the cooperator contacts Wilkerson 307 00:11:26,207 --> 00:11:28,252 to set up another meeting with himself 308 00:11:28,383 --> 00:11:29,689 and the new undercover agent. 309 00:11:29,819 --> 00:11:31,691 The plan is for this bribe 310 00:11:31,821 --> 00:11:34,476 to come directly from the agent. 311 00:11:34,606 --> 00:11:35,695 - And the cooperator said, 312 00:11:35,825 --> 00:11:37,087 "Oh, I think I might be moving out," 313 00:11:37,218 --> 00:11:41,048 so the undercover said, "I want the liquor license." 314 00:11:41,178 --> 00:11:42,963 - Okay. - So the fifth total payment 315 00:11:43,093 --> 00:11:46,096 actually came right from the undercover. 316 00:11:46,227 --> 00:11:47,532 So now he's in, so now we can kind of move... 317 00:11:47,663 --> 00:11:49,926 - And she felt comfortable? - Well, she took it. 318 00:11:50,057 --> 00:11:51,493 Yeah, without a problem. - Well, of course she did. 319 00:11:51,623 --> 00:11:53,234 She's like, "I'm gonna take some more cash." 320 00:11:57,151 --> 00:11:59,153 - With the operation back on track, 321 00:11:59,283 --> 00:12:02,330 another undercover agent is added into the mix. 322 00:12:02,460 --> 00:12:04,724 This second undercover is introduced to Wilkerson 323 00:12:04,854 --> 00:12:06,856 as an out-of-state businessman 324 00:12:06,987 --> 00:12:10,294 interested in developing another project. 325 00:12:10,425 --> 00:12:12,079 - The second undercover came in, 326 00:12:12,209 --> 00:12:14,472 and he paid--I think it was maybe the sixth payment, 327 00:12:14,603 --> 00:12:18,172 paid her $2,000 328 00:12:18,302 --> 00:12:19,913 towards keeping the liquor license thing going. 329 00:12:24,395 --> 00:12:26,789 - In one of her meetings with the undercover agents, 330 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:28,922 Wilkerson pitches a new scheme. 331 00:12:29,052 --> 00:12:31,141 - She had this thing called parcel eight. 332 00:12:31,272 --> 00:12:32,926 So parcel eight was 333 00:12:33,056 --> 00:12:34,665 this state-owned piece of property 334 00:12:34,797 --> 00:12:37,017 next to a hardware store. 335 00:12:37,147 --> 00:12:39,149 She kept talking about direct designation, 336 00:12:39,280 --> 00:12:40,629 and what that meant was, 337 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:42,849 "I can directly designate 338 00:12:42,979 --> 00:12:44,807 "this state piece of land to you, 339 00:12:44,938 --> 00:12:46,635 "and it's a very valuable piece of land. 340 00:12:46,766 --> 00:12:48,855 "As long as you pay, like, market value, 341 00:12:48,985 --> 00:12:50,770 "I can get a piece of legislation. 342 00:12:50,900 --> 00:12:52,859 We don't have to put it out to bid." 343 00:12:55,122 --> 00:12:57,211 - The undercover agents express an interest 344 00:12:57,341 --> 00:12:59,343 in acquiring the state-owned piece of land, 345 00:12:59,474 --> 00:13:00,954 and the following month, 346 00:13:01,084 --> 00:13:02,782 Wilkerson is paid a seventh bribe. 347 00:13:07,134 --> 00:13:10,180 The FBI ups the ante and proposes a new meeting 348 00:13:10,311 --> 00:13:12,661 with fake investors in the state of Georgia. 349 00:13:12,792 --> 00:13:15,403 - And we arrange this big thing 350 00:13:15,533 --> 00:13:17,231 in Atlanta. 351 00:13:17,361 --> 00:13:19,973 There were gonna be, like, eight undercovers there, 352 00:13:20,103 --> 00:13:22,758 and it was introducing other people in 353 00:13:22,889 --> 00:13:24,978 and rolling out this scenario. 354 00:13:25,108 --> 00:13:27,371 And sent her a ticket, and we're all set to go, 355 00:13:27,502 --> 00:13:29,156 and she--she bagged. 356 00:13:29,286 --> 00:13:30,897 Like, before, she didn't come. - Oh. 357 00:13:37,207 --> 00:13:38,208 - Do you know why she canceled at the time? 358 00:13:38,339 --> 00:13:39,514 You found out, maybe, after the fact, 359 00:13:39,644 --> 00:13:41,908 but did you know... - She lost the primary. 360 00:13:42,038 --> 00:13:43,387 - Oh. - She lost the primary, 361 00:13:43,518 --> 00:13:45,433 and now she's, like, in the fight of her life. 362 00:13:45,563 --> 00:13:46,826 She's gonna do a sticker campaign 363 00:13:46,956 --> 00:13:48,871 and write in, and, hopefully, get reelected. 364 00:13:49,002 --> 00:13:52,483 And so she's like, "Nope, I got too much on my plate," 365 00:13:52,614 --> 00:13:53,963 so she didn't come, so we never were able 366 00:13:54,094 --> 00:13:55,312 to roll out that scenario, 367 00:13:55,443 --> 00:13:57,445 even though everything was in place for it. 368 00:13:59,664 --> 00:14:02,580 - But a call from Wilkerson provides the FBI 369 00:14:02,711 --> 00:14:06,193 an opening to fully exploit her land development scheme. 370 00:14:06,323 --> 00:14:09,196 - She contacted the second undercover and said, 371 00:14:09,326 --> 00:14:11,502 "I'm fighting for my life. 372 00:14:11,633 --> 00:14:14,592 I need you to give me $10,000 donation." 373 00:14:14,723 --> 00:14:17,160 - The undercover agent agrees to donate 374 00:14:17,291 --> 00:14:19,684 to Wilkerson's reelection campaign, 375 00:14:19,815 --> 00:14:21,034 but tells her he needs 376 00:14:21,164 --> 00:14:23,123 the state-owned land in exchange. 377 00:14:23,253 --> 00:14:24,689 - He said, "Well, I wanna see 378 00:14:24,820 --> 00:14:26,953 this direct designation legislation." 379 00:14:27,083 --> 00:14:28,911 And she said she would do it. 380 00:14:29,042 --> 00:14:30,608 So we paid her $10,000, 381 00:14:30,739 --> 00:14:32,219 he paid her $10,000 in cash, 382 00:14:32,349 --> 00:14:33,568 in a sandwich shop. 383 00:14:37,964 --> 00:14:40,662 But she was able to show him the filing 384 00:14:40,792 --> 00:14:43,317 of the legislation. So she filed it. 385 00:14:43,447 --> 00:14:45,580 - I was feeling really good about the case. 386 00:14:45,710 --> 00:14:48,017 I thought we'd put it together well. 387 00:14:48,148 --> 00:14:50,106 And I knew our evidence was strong. 388 00:14:50,237 --> 00:14:52,674 It was the kind of corruption case 389 00:14:52,804 --> 00:14:54,719 that you join the bureau to work. 390 00:14:54,850 --> 00:14:56,243 It's perfect. - Pay to play, bribery. 391 00:14:56,373 --> 00:14:59,028 The whole--yeah. - Bribing a state senator... 392 00:14:59,159 --> 00:15:01,509 - Yep. - And the betrayal of the trust 393 00:15:01,639 --> 00:15:03,076 of the community. 394 00:15:03,206 --> 00:15:06,470 We expect our politician to provide us honest services, 395 00:15:06,601 --> 00:15:08,037 and she was not doing that. 396 00:15:11,649 --> 00:15:13,042 - When did you know you were gonna be able 397 00:15:13,173 --> 00:15:14,261 to do the arrest and takedown? 398 00:15:14,391 --> 00:15:15,610 - The problem was, there was 399 00:15:15,740 --> 00:15:17,090 an election coming up, 400 00:15:17,220 --> 00:15:18,743 and there's two schools of thought 401 00:15:18,874 --> 00:15:20,180 if you think about it. 402 00:15:20,310 --> 00:15:22,530 Do you take it down before the election... 403 00:15:22,660 --> 00:15:23,879 - Well, she's still the state senator, 404 00:15:24,010 --> 00:15:25,011 but even though she lost the-- 405 00:15:25,141 --> 00:15:26,229 - She's still the state senator, 406 00:15:26,360 --> 00:15:27,404 but she's gonna do a sticker campaign, 407 00:15:27,535 --> 00:15:28,971 so that means you write in on the ballot, 408 00:15:29,102 --> 00:15:31,713 but if you have enough people, you can get elected. 409 00:15:31,843 --> 00:15:33,236 It does happen, 410 00:15:33,367 --> 00:15:34,759 and she had a lot of support in the community. 411 00:15:34,890 --> 00:15:37,284 - But the U.S. attorney decides 412 00:15:37,414 --> 00:15:39,721 to move on Wilkerson before the election. 413 00:15:39,851 --> 00:15:41,157 - And then it was a scramble. 414 00:15:41,288 --> 00:15:44,160 It was like, you know, days of, like, you know, 415 00:15:44,290 --> 00:15:46,641 planning search warrants and the arrest warrant, 416 00:15:46,771 --> 00:15:50,471 and then I also did surveillance on Dianne 417 00:15:50,601 --> 00:15:52,038 the days leading up to the arrest 418 00:15:52,168 --> 00:15:54,518 to sort of understand what her pattern of life was, 419 00:15:54,649 --> 00:15:55,606 and was she leaving? - Right, of course. 420 00:15:55,737 --> 00:15:56,912 - So I think I spent about a week 421 00:15:57,043 --> 00:15:58,261 just sitting out in front of her house. 422 00:16:01,047 --> 00:16:02,613 - I was sitting in a car, 423 00:16:02,744 --> 00:16:04,485 waiting, you know, for her to come out... 424 00:16:07,575 --> 00:16:09,664 And this one woman came out, 425 00:16:09,794 --> 00:16:11,144 and then she went back in, 426 00:16:11,274 --> 00:16:12,710 and there was a car that pulls up. 427 00:16:12,841 --> 00:16:13,885 The last thing you want 428 00:16:14,016 --> 00:16:15,104 is for her to get into a car, 429 00:16:15,235 --> 00:16:16,366 and now you're doing a vehicle stop. 430 00:16:16,497 --> 00:16:17,759 - Yeah. - That, you know--no, no, no. 431 00:16:17,889 --> 00:16:19,543 That's a bad thing. So we wanna get her 432 00:16:19,674 --> 00:16:21,023 before she gets in the car. 433 00:16:21,154 --> 00:16:23,069 So, all of a sudden, I went, "It's her! Let's go! 434 00:16:23,199 --> 00:16:24,940 And I got out, and I just started running 435 00:16:25,071 --> 00:16:27,595 down the street as fast as I could go. 436 00:16:27,725 --> 00:16:30,250 And, you know, you wanna say "let's go," 437 00:16:30,380 --> 00:16:33,557 and cars pull up, but I am just--I'm going in. 438 00:16:33,688 --> 00:16:35,429 - "Stop!" - Yeah, yeah. 439 00:16:35,559 --> 00:16:37,126 And she was, obviously, very surprised. 440 00:16:39,737 --> 00:16:40,738 Cuffs on her. 441 00:16:40,869 --> 00:16:41,913 We took her back into the house. 442 00:16:42,044 --> 00:16:43,350 And we started the search warrant. 443 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:46,353 And she said, "Well, what's this about?" 444 00:16:46,483 --> 00:16:48,877 and I said, "Well, let me just tell you. 445 00:16:49,008 --> 00:16:50,792 You know the name." And I gave her the name 446 00:16:50,922 --> 00:16:52,620 of the second undercover 447 00:16:52,750 --> 00:16:55,318 that had just paid her $10,000, and she said, 448 00:16:55,449 --> 00:16:57,016 "Yes." And I said, 449 00:16:57,146 --> 00:16:58,800 "He's an FBI agent." 450 00:16:58,930 --> 00:17:00,802 And you could see the wheels just going 451 00:17:00,932 --> 00:17:02,847 ta-ting, ta-ting, ta-ting, ta-ting. 452 00:17:02,978 --> 00:17:04,066 And I said, "So we'd like to talk." 453 00:17:04,196 --> 00:17:05,936 She goes, "I'd be happy to talk to you 454 00:17:06,068 --> 00:17:07,722 after I contact my attorney." 455 00:17:07,852 --> 00:17:08,983 And that was the end of that. - Yeah, that was it. 456 00:17:09,115 --> 00:17:10,203 - Wilkerson was arrested 457 00:17:10,333 --> 00:17:12,204 in her Dorchester home this morning 458 00:17:12,335 --> 00:17:14,076 after an 18-month federal investigation 459 00:17:14,207 --> 00:17:16,425 dating back to March of last year. 460 00:17:16,557 --> 00:17:18,646 The FBI says the eight-term state senator 461 00:17:18,776 --> 00:17:22,084 took nearly $24,000 on eight separate occasions. 462 00:17:22,214 --> 00:17:24,391 We had evidence response team people searching 463 00:17:24,521 --> 00:17:25,869 at the house, 464 00:17:26,001 --> 00:17:29,352 and we had a team at her district office. 465 00:17:29,483 --> 00:17:32,138 We had another team doing her senate office 466 00:17:32,268 --> 00:17:33,878 doing a search warrant there. 467 00:17:34,009 --> 00:17:35,402 - And then, once they took her into the house 468 00:17:35,532 --> 00:17:36,403 and we knew everyone was safe, 469 00:17:36,533 --> 00:17:38,709 I headed to city hall, 470 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:41,756 and we interviewed Chuck Turner in his office. 471 00:17:45,412 --> 00:17:49,024 We ask him questions about the cooperating witness. 472 00:17:49,155 --> 00:17:50,243 Did he know the cooperating witness? 473 00:17:50,373 --> 00:17:52,375 Did he ever--you know, very direct questions. 474 00:17:52,506 --> 00:17:54,160 You know, "Did he ever pay you money?" 475 00:17:54,290 --> 00:17:55,291 - So did he tell you the truth? 476 00:17:55,422 --> 00:17:56,336 - No. - No. 477 00:17:56,466 --> 00:17:57,641 - I didn't take any money 478 00:17:57,772 --> 00:18:01,297 from any other developer, any other person. 479 00:18:01,428 --> 00:18:03,865 I don't need people's money to do my job. 480 00:18:03,995 --> 00:18:05,127 - How many days after her arrest 481 00:18:05,258 --> 00:18:06,172 did you arrest him? 482 00:18:06,302 --> 00:18:07,564 - I think it was about two weeks. 483 00:18:07,695 --> 00:18:08,652 - Yeah. - It was the weirdest thing. 484 00:18:08,783 --> 00:18:09,958 We walk into the office, 485 00:18:10,089 --> 00:18:11,177 and he's kicked back his chair 486 00:18:11,307 --> 00:18:12,961 with his feet up on the desk, 487 00:18:13,092 --> 00:18:14,832 and he's on the phone, and now you have six, eight 488 00:18:14,963 --> 00:18:16,443 federal agents walking in the door-- 489 00:18:16,573 --> 00:18:18,227 - And he thinks it's a joke. - He stays on the phone. 490 00:18:18,358 --> 00:18:20,795 He keeps talking, and we all kind of look at each other 491 00:18:20,925 --> 00:18:22,231 like "What do we do?" 492 00:18:22,362 --> 00:18:25,278 - Extremely disrespectful the entire time 493 00:18:25,408 --> 00:18:26,670 and flippant. 494 00:18:26,801 --> 00:18:28,890 So we arrest him at city hall, 495 00:18:29,020 --> 00:18:32,154 and we took him and escorted him into court 496 00:18:32,285 --> 00:18:33,503 for his initial appearance, 497 00:18:33,634 --> 00:18:37,594 and the hallways were lined with his supporters, 498 00:18:37,725 --> 00:18:39,161 many supporters, 499 00:18:39,292 --> 00:18:42,425 and they were heckling us, 500 00:18:42,556 --> 00:18:43,731 yelling at us. - Oh, wow. 501 00:18:43,861 --> 00:18:47,561 It was... [sighs] - Contentious, of course. 502 00:18:47,691 --> 00:18:49,302 - I had somebody chase me down the street, 503 00:18:49,432 --> 00:18:51,608 calling me a racial ethnic cleanser. 504 00:18:51,739 --> 00:18:52,653 - Yeah, that's not-- - No, we were just-- 505 00:18:52,783 --> 00:18:54,045 we were doing our job. 506 00:18:54,176 --> 00:18:55,264 That's what public corruption's all about. 507 00:19:06,884 --> 00:19:08,451 - Come to the conclusion yourself 508 00:19:08,582 --> 00:19:11,150 on whether you think I am in jail 509 00:19:11,280 --> 00:19:13,326 for the issues of justice 510 00:19:13,456 --> 00:19:15,937 or I am in jail because of issues 511 00:19:16,067 --> 00:19:18,113 of political persecution. 512 00:19:18,244 --> 00:19:20,942 - I particularly took great personal offense 513 00:19:21,072 --> 00:19:23,292 to Mr. Turner's representations 514 00:19:23,423 --> 00:19:25,686 that he should be compared to some of this nation's 515 00:19:25,816 --> 00:19:29,124 greatest civil rights heroes, such as Rosa Parks. 516 00:19:29,255 --> 00:19:31,257 Mr. Turner is no Rosa Parks. 517 00:19:31,387 --> 00:19:32,693 He's a convicted felon 518 00:19:32,823 --> 00:19:34,216 who took a bribe 519 00:19:34,347 --> 00:19:36,914 and then compounded that offense 520 00:19:37,045 --> 00:19:39,047 by lying about it repeatedly. 521 00:19:39,178 --> 00:19:42,268 - And did it come out, you know, later on? 522 00:19:42,398 --> 00:19:46,533 Like, did their constituencies realize that they were bad, 523 00:19:46,663 --> 00:19:49,275 or are they still thinking, "Okay, you know, 524 00:19:49,405 --> 00:19:51,842 the FBI got this wrong"? 525 00:19:51,973 --> 00:19:55,846 - The perception was that she was helping her community, 526 00:19:55,977 --> 00:19:57,761 which was a disadvantaged community, 527 00:19:57,892 --> 00:19:59,198 but really, ultimately, 528 00:19:59,328 --> 00:20:01,852 the people that suffer the most are-- 529 00:20:01,983 --> 00:20:02,853 - Those people in her community. 530 00:20:02,984 --> 00:20:04,290 - Who are disadvantaged. 531 00:20:04,420 --> 00:20:05,465 - Exactly. - Yeah, that don't have 532 00:20:05,595 --> 00:20:07,075 the money to pay. 533 00:20:07,206 --> 00:20:08,903 And so they're the ones 534 00:20:09,033 --> 00:20:10,731 that ultimately suffer. 535 00:20:10,861 --> 00:20:13,342 So she did a lot more harm than good by her actions. 536 00:20:13,473 --> 00:20:14,865 - Total disservice. 537 00:20:14,996 --> 00:20:16,650 - She's only helping people that are paying her, 538 00:20:16,780 --> 00:20:18,217 so other people-- they don't have 539 00:20:18,347 --> 00:20:19,696 a chance in her community. 540 00:20:19,827 --> 00:20:21,263 That's the bottom line. 541 00:20:21,394 --> 00:20:23,613 Like, all she cares about is herself 542 00:20:23,744 --> 00:20:25,093 and how it can benefit her. 543 00:20:25,224 --> 00:20:27,791 - A short time ago, State Senator Dianne Wilkerson 544 00:20:27,922 --> 00:20:29,228 appeared before a federal judge, 545 00:20:29,358 --> 00:20:30,620 calling these charges 546 00:20:30,751 --> 00:20:32,666 an all-out character assassination, 547 00:20:32,796 --> 00:20:35,843 but the U.S. attorney says it's all laid out right here. 548 00:20:35,973 --> 00:20:38,541 She had a history of corruption. 549 00:20:38,672 --> 00:20:39,977 - The citizens of the Commonwealth 550 00:20:40,108 --> 00:20:41,631 deserve honest and faithful services 551 00:20:41,762 --> 00:20:43,590 from the elected officials, 552 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:45,853 uncompromised by secret payments in cash. 553 00:21:00,084 --> 00:21:02,043 - Do you know what she was spending this money on? 554 00:21:02,173 --> 00:21:03,740 - A lot of Home Shopping Network. 555 00:21:03,871 --> 00:21:05,481 Oh, yes, like boxes everywhere that-- 556 00:21:05,612 --> 00:21:06,961 some of them weren't even opened. 557 00:21:07,091 --> 00:21:11,618 - There were piles of clothes with tags still on them, 558 00:21:11,748 --> 00:21:14,664 and she was giving a lot to family members, I think, 559 00:21:14,795 --> 00:21:17,450 to help with their living expenses. 560 00:21:17,580 --> 00:21:19,452 - One of the things she said on one of the tapes was, 561 00:21:19,582 --> 00:21:21,541 "I always feel that I can do good 562 00:21:21,671 --> 00:21:23,717 and do well at the same time." 563 00:21:23,847 --> 00:21:28,374 - In total, Wilkerson accepted $23,500 in bribes 564 00:21:28,504 --> 00:21:29,853 from the FBI. 565 00:21:29,984 --> 00:21:31,899 - I'm not sure people quite realize 566 00:21:32,029 --> 00:21:34,118 the extent that-- 567 00:21:34,249 --> 00:21:37,513 the damage that corruption has on a community. 568 00:21:37,644 --> 00:21:39,123 - Sure. - So that's 569 00:21:39,254 --> 00:21:40,647 why it's so important. 570 00:21:40,777 --> 00:21:43,737 - If you don't have checks and balances 571 00:21:43,867 --> 00:21:45,739 on public officials, 572 00:21:45,869 --> 00:21:48,132 you can't trust the police, you can't trust the judges. 573 00:21:48,263 --> 00:21:52,354 If you can't trust the public officials, 574 00:21:52,485 --> 00:21:55,923 society kind of spirals downward. 575 00:21:56,053 --> 00:21:58,229 - As public officials, 576 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:00,144 we take an oath, 577 00:22:00,275 --> 00:22:03,365 and we're held to a higher standard, 578 00:22:03,496 --> 00:22:06,673 and we have to hold all of our public officials, 579 00:22:06,803 --> 00:22:10,590 including us, as FBI agents, to that higher standard.