Wilkerson shuts down Senate campaign

Wilkerson delivered her announcement at the Charles Street A.M.E. Church in Roxbury following a meeting with prominent members of the city’s black religious community.

“As of this moment today … I am certainly announcing the suspension, the termination, cessation — I want to make it clear that I am ending any further campaign,” she said, according to the Boston Globe.

The announcement comes amid a slew of calls for the 15-year incumbent to resign her state Senate seat as the representative of the Second Suffolk District, which includes parts of Roxbury, Jamaica Plain, Dorchester and the South End.

Wilkerson said Friday she has not yet decided whether she would step down or serve out the rest of her elected term, but promised an announcement next Wednesday, the day after the Nov. 4 general election.

FBI agents arrested Wilkerson at her Boston home Tuesday on charges of attempted extortion as a public official and theft of honest services as a state senator. She faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines on each count.

An FBI affidavit included a series of still photographs from video recordings allegedly showing Wilkerson accepting bribes, in one case stuffing cash inside her bra. The alleged bribes were intended to garner Wilkerson’s assistance in obtaining a liquor license and pushing legislation on behalf of a developer, according to the affidavit.

The announcement marks another chapter in the saga of Wilkerson, 53, who lost the Sept. 16 state Democratic primary to Sonia Chang-Díaz despite the support of Gov. Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

Boyce Slayman, Wilkerson’s campaign manager, told reporters outside the Charles Street church that her decision was made for the good of the Roxbury community and her family.

“This is a very difficult time for her,” he said.

Some, including Wilkerson, had questioned the FBI’s timing. U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan said it was coincidental the complaint was filed a week before the election.

According to a federal criminal complaint, Wilkerson was recorded by audio and videotape accepting bribes in exchange for helping a proposed nightclub in her district get a liquor license.

She also allegedly accepted payments for helping another undercover officer posing as a businessman who wanted to develop state property in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood.

Sullivan said Wilkerson accepted eight payments, ranging from $500 to $10,000, during the 17-month investigation.

Tuesday’s arrest was the most serious in a sting of ethical and criminal violations committed by Wilkerson during her 15-year tenure as state senator.

Just last week, the state Bar Counsel filed a complaint against Wilkerson accusing her of lying under oath in an effort to overturn her nephew’s voluntary manslaughter conviction. The penalty could include disbarment.

Over the years, she has also faced accusations of failing to account for donations and personal reimbursements, failing to pay federal income taxes and failure to properly report consultant fees she received from a bank that she lobbied for.

Horace Small, executive director of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods, on Friday compared Wilkerson’s fall to “a marriage that has been in turmoil for a long time.”

“You’ve been with her for a long time, and tried to work out your differences,” Small told the Globe. “But at some point, you’ve got to say, ‘Baby, I love you, but I got to let you go.’ Breaking up is hard to do.”

Associated Press writers Glen Johnson, Denise Lavoie and Steve LeBlanc contributed to this report.