State Sen. Dianne Wilkerson Faces New Corruption Charges

Former state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson faces nearly two dozen new charges as part of the federal bribery investigation that led to her resignation and has also snared Boston City Councilor Chuck Turner.

A federal grand jury in Boston on Tuesday handed down additional felony charges against Wilkerson. The charges against Wilkerson include 23 counts of theft of honest services mail and wire fraud. That's on top of the extortion charges that forced Wilkerson to resign her senate seat in fall 2008.

The indictment calls for Turner to forfeit the $1,000 he allegedly extorted from a cooperating witness. Turner remains charged with extortion, conspiracy and lying to the FBI.

He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Both Wilkerson and Turner have denied the charges, and promised to fight them in court.