IT’S FAMILY TRADITION
Pols, offspring in felony affair
Hack jailbird Dianne Wilkerson, age 61, has a son, Cornell Mills, age 42, who is now himself charged with larceny and embezzlement.
It’s a family tradition. And of course, Cornell had a nice $45,000-ayear hack job at City Hall until he got pinched this week. He learned something from his mom, apparently. Dianne, better known by her federal Bureau of Prisons number 21757038, went to prison for stealing a mere $23,500. Her offspring is charged with absconding with more than twice that — $50,000.
The rotten apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.
What is it with these crooked pols and their crooked kids?
Of course, Sen. Wilkerson is famous for her starring role in one of the most memorable FBI surveillance videos of all time — stuffing $100 bills into her bra while serving as a member of the Massachusetts state Senate.
She was from the Second Suffolk District, Roxbury, which before Dianne had always been represented by either Royal Bolling Sr. or Bill Owens, who traded the seat back and forth for decades. Royal Bolling Sr. had done federal time at Danbury for incometax evasion. Bill Owens was more of a blue-collar thug. He did a stretch at Walpole for an assault on Blue Hill Avenue.
All those Roxbury felons served in the Senate when the president was one William M. Bulger of South Boston. Both of Billy Bulger’s brothers are felons, too — serial-killing cocaine dealer Whitey, and his hack little brother, Jackie. Whitey’s BOP number is 02182-748, and Jackie’s is 23986-038.
It’s debatable which branch of the state Legislature is more corrupt — the House or the Senate. In the Bulger days, it was the Senate for sure, but lately, the House has had a run of three convictedfelon speakers, and the current one is an unindicted co-conspirator.
The first of the felon House speakers was Good Time Charlie Flaherty. Income tax evasion, don’t you know. He has a son named Tim Flaherty, who was indicted in 2015 by the feds for witness-tampering. (He later pleaded guilty to a state misdemeanor.)
As for Cornell Mills, he’s tried his hand in elective politics, running for the Boston City Council seat vacated by Chuck “Superfly” Turner, who was himself convicted of bribery and went to Club Fed under the BOP number 80641-038.
By the time he got into the Council fight, Mills had a lengthy rap sheet, not that it would affect his chances of winning office around here. He had been employed by the district attorney, who described Cornell as a “nice young man.” He must have been, because the charges against him always got pleaded down, if not dismissed.
By the way, that City Council seat that Cornell Mills ran for — it’s vacant again this year, and one of the candidates is ex-state Rep. Carlos Henriquez, who was expelled from the House and then did a short stretch for assaulting an ex-girlfriend.
My money’s on Henriquez. He’s got the pedigree … and the rap sheet.