BOSTON — She made history four years ago with her election to the Boston City Council, but Tania Fernandes Anderson’s tenure on that body could come to an ignominious end Monday.
Fernandes Anderson is expected to plead guilty in federal court to one count of wire fraud and one count of theft involving public funds. In exchange, prosecutors are dropping four charges -- including falsifying tax returns.
By pleading guilty, Fernandes Anderson could face a significantly reduced sentence. Prison terms for wire fraud can run up to 20 years. Prosecutors will ask for one year and one day in prison -- as well as restitution of $13,000.
That is the same amount in public funds Fernandes Anderson is accused of awarding as a bonus to a relative working in her city council office -- with the understanding that $7,000 would come back to Fernandes Anderson to pay an ethics fine.
That ethics fine, $5,000, was imposed on Fernandes Anderson in 2023 as a penalty for hiring two immediate family members to her city council staff. She was also required to terminate their employment. That was in August 2022.
A few months later, the Department of Justice alleged that Fernandes Anderson informed the city of a new hire -- with an assurance that person was not related to her.
The charging documents refer to that new hire as Staff Member A -- and describe that person as a relative of Fernandes Anderson, but not an immediate family member. Staff Member A is the person who received the $13,000 in early May 2023. By June 9, the DOJ alleged Staff Member A had paid $7,000 in cash to Fernandes Anderson.
A federal grand jury indicted Fernandes Anderson last December. Calls for her resignation have been growing since then. In early April, she agreed to the plea deal and said she would resign.
Among those opposed to holding a special election: Secretary of State William Galvin. He put Boston’s elections department under receivership after the city ran out of ballots during last November’s election.
“We think it would be a mistake,” Galvin said. “We don’t think it’s going to accomplish anything because the person would only serve for a couple of months and they would simultaneously be running again in September. So you’d be elected in July and running again in September that doesn’t make any sense.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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