St. Louis aldermen indicted on federal bribery charges

The President of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen, a current alderman and a former alderman were indicted Thursday on federal bribery charges.

Lewis Reed, board president since 2007 and an alderman since 1999, was charged with two counts of bribery in U.S. District Court. Former Alderman John Collins-Muhammad was charged with two counts of bribery and one count of fraud. Alderman Jeffrey Boyd was charged with two counts of bribery and another count of fraud.

The three entered not-guilty pleas on Thursday during a court hearing, according to reports from several media outlets.

The 66-page indictment contains multiple pages of narrative exchanges between the three and “John Doe,” who was seeking a tax abatement for a property he was developing. The conversations began in 2020 and continued until February.

Doe owns and operates several small businesses located in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County. He planned to develop a vacant property in Collins-Muhammad’s ward and sought his help to approve a property tax abatement through the board. Doe also sought to purchase and redevelop a commercial property owned by the city in Boyd’s ward. He sought Boyd’s assistance in getting approval from the Land Reutilization Authority for the purchase and redevelopment and a property tax abatement.

Reed, the first African American elected president of the board, unsuccessfully ran for mayor three times, including last year’s loss to Mayor Tishaura Jones.

“Mayor Jones is deeply troubled by allegations outlined by the U.S. Attorney against Alderman Jeffrey Boyd, Alderman John Collins-Muhammad, and President Lewis Reed,” Nick Dunne, a spokesman for Jones, said in a statement. “Our office will monitor this case as it progresses through the legal system.”

The indictment states Doe gave Reed campaign contributions totaling $3,500 and four additional cash payments totaling $4,000. In exchange, Doe sought “Reed’s continued agreement, assistance and use of his official position” to assist with getting a minority business enterprise certification for a trucking company and subsequent city contracts.

The indictment states Collins-Muhammad “corruptly accepted and agreed to accept things of value from John Doe, namely a stream of cash payments, campaign contributions, an automobile, and other things of value, intending to be influence and rewarded” for transactions with the city.

All three were charged with one count of using a cellular phone in carrying out one or more unlawful activities, primarily violating state corruption laws and city ordinances regarding private gain and gifts.