You can lie to your friends. You can lie to your enemies. You can lie to your family but when it comes to being sentenced in Federal Court you better cut the lies and say you’re sorry.
Former Boston City Councillor Chuck Turner has never confessed to his crime which was videotaped for all to see.
And when he was asked at his trial to describe what he was seeing on the videotape, he said he couldn’t remember taking the $1000 as a bribe for a favor to be done.
Federal District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock described Turner’s answer as ludicrous and surreal and he didn’t think much of Turner’s continued exhortations to his followers that he was framed and the trial was a sham and everyone was out to get him.
Additionally, all this was done to him because he is black, is what he has asserted.
In the end, Turner got the worst punishment someone like him could receive, which is, exactly what he deserved.
You can lie to yourself.
You can lie to everyone.
But you can’t lie to the Feds when they have you on video tape taking money as a bribe while you were serving as an elected public official for the city of Boston.
That’s where the system and the Feds draw the line.
Some honesty from him in this instance would have been the right thing to do. What’s more, it might have helped him gain a lighter sentence than the one imposed on him Tuesday afternoon.