Corrupt Democrat who STOLE from taxpayers forces colleagues to stand for awkward picture as she leaves in disgrace
A disgraced Boston city councilor who stole money from taxpayers forced her colleagues to take an excruciating final group photo as she stepped down.
Tania Fernandes Anderson attended her final meeting on Wednesday ahead of her July 4 resignation and sentencing on federal corruption charges.
'Everyone knows the climate got tough, and you kept your head up high. You were professional. You were kind, intelligent, and you did the work for District 7,' she said at the meeting, according to WBZ News Radio.
'I thank you from the bottom of my heart,' she added, making no reference to the corruption scandal.
Anderson will be sentenced next month after admitting federal charges for stealing $7,000 of taxpayer money.
The councilor lied about being related to another city employee and then managed to secure them a $13,000 bonus, $7,000 of which she kept for herself.
The stack of cash was handed over to her in inside the City Hall bathroom in June 2023.
She remained on city council despite her guilty plea, due to state law that bars removing a member until after sentencing, which will happen on July 29.
Anderson announced she would step down on July 4 and asked supporters to join her at the final meeting on Wednesday.
At the meeting, Anderson called each city council member to the podium, where she personally thanked them for their work.
'My staff has a saying in the office that after working for me, they can last anywhere. I don't know what that means, I think it means that they love me,' she joked.
She also gave the floor to any member who would like to speak, but none took her up on the offer.
Anderson then had all of them come up to the podium for a photo. The disgraced councilwoman beamed brightly in the backrow sporting a blue silk and white outfit, while others awkwardly stood around her. A few appeared to have scowls on their faces.
Some, however, did praise the councilwoman, with lawmaker Brian Worrell comparing her to Harriet Tubman, the Boston Herald said.
Afterward, the meeting proceeded with Anderson offering 10 resolutions, including urging the city and state to build housing for young adults and support the rights of parents to bring their infants to work.
Council members voted against her one of her resolutions, which were in her transition plan. The other nine prevailed.
She also vowed to continue her service, saying: 'This is not an ending, it is a return to the base, to the roots, where real power lives, with all the people.
'I will still be fighting, not from this chamber but from the community, with you, always.'
Prosecutors have recommended Anderson spend a year in prison and pay $13,000 in restitution.
Fernandes Anderson lied about being related to the staffer when the hire was made, the indictment said.
She also allegedly claimed the extravagant bonus was awarded to pay the staffer for previous volunteer work.
Despite being paid $115,000 a year, Fernandes Anderson was facing financial issues, according to federal officials.
Investigators believe that the pair decided Fernandes Anderson would award the staffer a bonus of $13,000 - more than double the amount given to other employees - and the staffer would then pay $7,000 to Anderson as a kickback.
After the bonus was deposited into the staffer's bank account, Fernandes Anderson instructed the employee to make separate cash withdrawals from the bonus check, prosecutors said.
The staff member allegedly made two separate withdrawals of $3,000 from two different bank locations in Boston on May 31, 2023 and June 5, 2023.
The staffer then withdrew $4,000 from a third Boston bank on June 9, 2023, prosecutors said.
'On or about June 9, 2023, at approximately 4.11pm, Staff Member A texted Fernandes Anderson, "Bathroom" to let Fernandes Anderson know that Staff Member A was waiting in the bathroom to hand the $7,000 cash to Fernandes Anderson,' the indictment says.
'Within seconds, Fernandes Anderson texted Staff Member A, "Ready" to confirm that Fernandes Anderson was ready to accept the $7,000 cash kickback from Staff Member A.
'Shortly following these texts, Staff Member A handed Fernandes Anderson approximately $7,000 in cash at a bathroom in City Hall,' court documents say.
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