ST. LOUIS — The federal Bureau of Prisons has determined where three disgraced St. Louis aldermen will serve their sentences after they pleaded guilty to accepting bribes from a north St. Louis gas station owner-turned-undercover FBI informant.
Former aldermanic President Lewis Reed, who was sentenced to nearly four years in prison on two bribery-related charges, will serve his sentence at Federal Correctional Institution Forrest City, a low-security prison in Forrest City, Arkansas. Reed also was fined $18,500.
Former Alderman Jeffrey Boyd was sentenced to three years in prison for bribery, wire fraud and insurance fraud. He will serve his sentence at Federal Correctional Institution Texarkana, a low-security prison in Texarkana, Texas. He was fined nearly $24,000.
And former Alderman John Collins-Muhammad was sentenced to nearly four years in prison and fined $19,500 for bribery and fraud crimes. He will serve his sentence at United States Penitentiary Marion, a medium-security prison in Marion, Illinois.
All three former Democratic aldermen will serve their sentences in minimum-security camps adjacent to the main prison complexes. Roughly 200 other prisoners are housed at each camp.
Reed, Boyd and Collins-Muhammad were indicted in May and pleaded guilty in August.
Reed, Boyd and Collins-Muhammad helped a businessman, identified in court documents as “John Doe,” in multiple dealings with city agencies and sponsored, supported and signed off on multiple board bills before the Board of Aldermen.
All three also lied to FBI agents until confronted with photographs and recordings of themselves accepting bribes.
In addition to the cash, Boyd accepted free repairs from Doe for two vehicles owned by Boyd.
In a separate case, Boyd admitted fraudulently submitting an insurance claim for three vehicles owned by Doe.
A source familiar with the investigation identified Doe as gas station owner Mohammed Almuttan, who wore a wire while bribing the three former aldermen.
“The victims here—the 300,000 residents of the city of St. Louis—expect their elected officials to do their jobs honestly and honorably, not line their pockets and swap official actions for cash,” U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming said in a news release.
Almuttan was sentenced in October to four years in prison and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to conspiracy to traffic contraband cigarettes.