ST. LOUIS – It was a long day of sentencing at the Eagleton Courthouse in downtown St. Louis on Tuesday.
Former Board of Aldermen President Lewis Reed and former Aldermen Jeffrey Boyd and John Collins-Muhammad were all sentenced to at least three years in prison for federal corruption charges.
“I would say the judges’ sentencing held these defendants responsible for their criminal conduct,” said Hal Goldsmith, United States Assistant Attorney.
Reed and Collins-Muhammad were sentenced to 45 months in prison, while Boyd was sentenced to 36 months. Each of them will also have to give back the money that federal investigators say they got as bribes for helping a business developer get tax breaks. Reed was ordered to pay back $18,500; Boyd had to pay $23,000, and Collins-Muhammad was ordered to pay back $19,500.
“I believe that today’s sentencing shows that anybody who commits a public corruption of any kind will be held accountable,” said Jay Greenberg, a special agent with the FBI.
Joe Flees, Collins-Muhammad’s attorney, spoke briefly with the media after his client was sentenced.
“John’s spent a lot of time reflecting on this,” Flees said. “He’s always someone who presented himself as someone who truly regrets what he did.”
Reed was the last to be sentenced. In the courtroom, Reed told the judge, “My actions will haunt me until the end of my days.”
Reed’s attorney Scott Rosenblum said Reed was a “special individual” and that he “owned” his actions.
Following the sentencing, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones said in a statement:
“These crimes have victims: Their families, who are suffering; their constituents, whose interests they put aside in pursuit of personal profit; and our entire city, which was shaken by the brazenness of the trio’s corruption.”