Former Boston City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson has been sentenced to one month in prison on corruption charges, CBS News Boston reports. After pleading guilty to wire fraud and theft involving federal funds, Anderson will also face three years of supervised release and is required to pay $13,000 in restitution.
As part of her plea, Anderson admitted to a scheme where she hired a relative in violation of conflict of interest laws, and then issued them a $13,000 bonus, of which she took a $7,000 kickback in a City Hall bathroom; the sentencing falls short of the prosecution's recommendation of one year and one day in prison that was aimed to strictly reflect her betrayal of public trust, according to the United States Attorney Leah B. Foley, who said in a statement obtained by NBC Boston, "Tania Fernandes Anderson was elected to serve her constituents but instead, she deliberately used her elected position as a Boston City Councilor to serve herself."
Outside the courtroom following her sentencing, the former councilor made an appeal to the media, saying, "It happened, I took responsibility" and requested that the coverage on her case be halted, "I actually don't like being in the media. It's just too much and so can you please, I'm asking you for the love of god, stop talking about me? Just let the story go," Fernandes Anderson told CBS News Boston.
Additionally, Anderson faced personal financial strife, partly as a result of a fine from the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission for hiring immediate family members, which is prohibited for council members, and although previously apologize to constituents for the hardship caused and the pain endured, she also criticized the news coverage for its portrayal of Black individuals, "The reason why I don't talk to you is because you never report accurately on Black people," she said after her sentencing in a statement reported by NBC Boston.
Fernandes Anderson, who made history as the first African immigrant and Muslim-American elected to the Boston City Council in 2021, resigned from her Councilor position for Boston's District 7 this past June, with her resignation taking effect on July 4. Her sentencing marks a fall from grace for a political figure who once represented diversity and promise for the constituents of Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway, and part of the South End.
