ST. LOUIS — Former St. Louis Alderman Jeffrey Boyd is expected to plead guilty to federal corruption charges alleging he took bribes in exchange for tax breaks.
Court documents show Boyd, who originally pleaded not guilty to two bribery counts as well as two counts of wire fraud related to an automobile insurance scheme, is scheduled to change his plea Aug. 26, according to court documents.
Boyd’s attorney, Lenny Kagan, declined to comment.
Boyd is one of four St. Louis area public officials to be indicted as part of an investigation that relied upon the same informant, who caught the alleged bribes while wearing wires for the FBI.
He is the second to schedule a change-of-plea hearing. They have until today to notify the court on whether they want to schedule any change-of-plea hearings, otherwise the trial is scheduled for Sept. 12, according to court documents.
The U.S. Attorney's Office has accused Boyd, former 22nd Ward Alderman, of accepting $9,500 in cash and about $2,344 in car repairs. He is facing a potential maximum sentence of 55 years.
The feds say Boyd helped their informant buy a commercial property along Geraldine Avenue that was owned by the city’s Land Reutilization Authority as well as get tax abatement for the site. He’s also accused of filling out the application for the informant and lying about how much the project would cost and how long it would take to build to get better tax credits.
Former Board of Alderman President Lewis Reed, former Alderman John Collins-Muhammad and former St. Louis County Executive Sam Page appointee Tony Weaver have also been indicted for their alleged work with the same informant.
Collins-Muhammed also has a change-of-plea hearing scheduled. He originally pleaded not guilty to the changes against him but is now scheduled to appear before District Judge Stephen R. Clark Aug. 23 to change his plea.
Collins-Muhammad is facing three charges, which carry a maximum of 35 years in prison combined. His attorney, Joseph Flees, told 5 On Your Side he plans to seek probation and non-incarceration.
"There is no excuse for his conduct, but he has a lot of potential for rehabilitation and he's got a family," Flees said.
Flees said he expects his client’s sentencing hearing to be set sometime in November or December.
Reed has so far waived his right to pretrial motions – which could be a sign of a plea as well -- but he does not have a change-of-plea hearing filed.
His attorney, Scott Rosenblum, has not yet returned a phone call seeking comment.
Weaver also got indicted as part of the same investigation.
In June, his attorneys asked for and received more time to review all of the evidence against Weaver to prepare for pre-trial motions.
Page appointed Weaver in January 2020 as the Change Management Coordinator at the St. Louis County Justice Services Center.
Page fired him following the indictment, which alleged Weaver participated in a COVID-19 relief funds fraud scheme.
