The Wilkerson Case and the Open Meeting Law
Media Law: Sen. Diane Wilkerson faces the possibility of prison for allegedly violating the law and the public trust. Yet other public officials involved in this case also may have violated the law and the public trust, but they are unlikely to face any consequences. That is because their violations were of the open meeting law — one of the few laws on the books that carries no penalties for those who violate it.
The apparent open meeting law violation involves the Boston Licensing Board’s issuance of the liquor license that is at the heart of the complaint against Wilkerson. Kevin McCrea wrote about this yesterday at his blog, The BIG Campaign, and Universal Hub picked up on it today. Consider this excerpt from the affidavit of FBI Special Agent Krista L. Corr, which forms the basis for the complaint against Wilkerson. It comes after the affidavit describes Wilkerson’s alleged efforts to strong-arm the BLB into granting a license to the planned club Dejavu. References to CW are to the unidentified cooperating witness:23. Boston Licensing Board “Smoke and Mirrors”: On the same day, August 15, 2007, the BLB held a public hearing at Boston City Hall. Dejavu’s application for a license did not appear on the agenda that day. Agents attended the public hearing and there was no public discussion of Dejavu’s application or a public vote to grant Dejavu any type of license. Despite this, the attorney recruited by WILKERSON later left a message for the CW telling him that “the vote was in” and that the beer and wine license had been approved. When the CW subsequently told WILKERSON in a recorded call that there was no mention of Dejavu’s application at the BLB public hearing but that the attorney claimed that the license was granted, WILKERSON responded that…