Mass. Senate asks legislator to quit

BOSTON, Oct. 30 (UPI) -- The Massachusetts state Senate voted unanimously Thursday to seek the resignation of a Boston legislator charged with taking bribes.

Sen. Dianne Wilkerson, a Democrat, was arrested earlier this week. Federal prosecutors said that she accepted more than $20,000 from a developer and a nightclub seeking a liquor license.

Senate President Therese Murray made a brief statement after the vote urging Wilkerson to follow her colleague's wishes, The Boston Globe reported. Murray also reminded reporters that federal prosecutors said that no one else in the Legislature is implicated.

Wilkerson lost in the Democratic primary this year. She is trying to keep her seat, using a sticker campaign.

The senate also voted Thursday to remove Wilkerson as chairwoman of the Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight and to strip her of other committee assignments. They also asked the state Senate Ethics Committee to begin an investigation.