Another misplaced word by the media...they need a box.

Former state Senator Dianne Wilkerson said she routinely accepted money over the last decade from friends and political supporters - upwards of $70,000, some of it cash in unmarked envelopes - without ever reporting it on her campaign reports or tax returns.

Wilkerson disclosed her acceptance of the cash and checks in a recent interview with the Globe, saying she took individual financial contributions of up to $10,000 to help pay off mortgage and federal tax debts. The contributions, she said, were approved by the state Ethics Commission, vetted by lawyers, and within state and federal laws.

The interview was the first Wilkerson has given since her arrest in October on federal bribery charges, an arrest that was accompanied by stunning FBI surveillance pictures of Wilkerson allegedly accepting wads of cash from a cooperating witness who sought a liquor license for a Roxbury nightclub.

While she declined to discuss anything about the criminal charges, her description of the highly unusual personal fundraising effort provides a possible window into her planned defense.

Now the Boston Globe seems to have misplaced the word "DEMOCRAT." No worries...I'm here to help.

DEMOCRAT Diane Wilkerson. The former DEMOCRAT Senator. You have to love this DEMOCRAT'S defense though...Apparently, she is going to try and convince the ethics committee as well as the Court of Law...that there were no strings attached to receiving cold hard cash from constituents asking for a favor. How does that work on this little scenario?

Despite Wilkerson's assertion, one of the people who gave Wilkerson the full $10,000 gift was Arthur Winn, one of the developers of the controversial Columbus Center project in Boston that would span the Massachusetts Turnpike, according to two people who were told about the transactions. Wilkerson voted in favor of state funding for Columbus Center in 2005, according to legislative records, and also lobbied state officials to provide additional state assistance to the developers.

Start working on the presidential pardon...DEMOCRAT Diane Wilkerson...you have a head start on the rest of the race hustlers.