Disgraced City Councilor Tania Fernandes Anderson resigned on July 4 after being found guilty of federal corruption, and Boston has declared its independence from her.
Fernandes Anderson, 46, was detained by the federal government outside her Dorchester home last December and entered a guilty plea on May 5 to two of the six public corruption allegations against her in a federal indictment.
As part of a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s office, the former councilor consented to enter a guilty plea to two of the charges: one count of wire fraud and one count of theft pertaining to a government program. In early April, she struck a deal with federal prosecutors that resulted in the dismissal of the four other wire fraud counts.
Fernandes Anderson’s kickback scheme at City Hall two years ago is linked to the charges. In exchange for $7,000 being returned to her, the then-councilor gave a $13,000 bonus to one of her Council employees, who was not a direct family relation. According to the federal indictment, the handoff happened in a restroom at City Hall in June 2023 and was arranged via text.
On June 12, Fernandes Anderson sent the city her letter of resignation, stating that her last day would be July 4. Following her arrest and indictment in December, Mayor Michelle Wu and five municipal councilors, including the council president, made requests for her resignation, but she refused for months.
According to state law, councilors can only be removed from office upon a felony sentencing rather than a conviction.
On July 29, Fernandes Anderson will be sentenced in federal court. The former councilor should be sentenced to a year and a day in prison and compelled to pay $13,000 in restitution, according to U.S. Attorney Leah Foley’s recommendation.
Fernandes Anderson has been cautioned by the federal court overseeing the case that she has the option to reject the prosecution’s suggestion and inflict a more severe punishment.
A conviction for wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. A conviction for theft involving programs that receive federal funding carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
According to the federal indictment, Fernandes Anderson’s personal financial struggles may have served as some of her driving forces. During that time, Fernandes Anderson faced a $5,000 penalties for a state ethics violation for hiring two members of her direct family to work on her City Council, giving them raises, and in her sister’s case, a bonus.
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District 7, which covers Roxbury, Dorchester, Fenway, and a portion of the South End, was represented by Fernandes Anderson, a city councilor who had a salary of $120,000.
In January 2022, she became the first African immigrant, Muslim American, and formerly undocumented individual elected to the City Council.
Approximately halfway through her second term, she resigned.
Eleven candidates from District 7 are eligible to run in the preliminary election on September 9. The two primary candidates with the most votes advance to the general election on November 4.
Instead of waiting until the swearing-in event in early January, city officials have stated that they would prefer to have the next District 7 councilor seated as soon as the November election is over.
