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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - A disgraced Democrat who was Boston's first Muslim lawmaker is heading to jail on Friday over a $7,000 kickback scheme.
Former Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges after prosecutors accused her of taking most of an inflated bonus that she paid to a relative who worked for her.
She was sentenced to one month and three years of probation, and was ordered to pay $13,000 in restitution.
'I feel disgusted, like I can't forgive myself,' Fernandes Anderson said at her sentencing hearing, as reported by the Boston Herald.
Anderson told her relative that she would give her a $13,000 bonus, which was more than twice as much as the combined bonuses she gave to the rest of the staff, according to prosecutors.
After taxes, the staffer received about $10,000. She withdrew the money in several bank transactions in May and June of 2023 before exchanging texts to meet Anderson in a City Hall bathroom that June 9, where she gave Anderson $7,000 of the money.
According to the indictment, Fernandes Anderson lied about being related to the staffer when the hire was made.
She also allegedly claimed the extravagant bonus was awarded to pay the staffer for previous volunteer work.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... hroom.html