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Former St. Louis Alderman Collins-Muhammad to plead guilty in corruption case

Former St. Louis Alderman John Collins-Muhammad walks out of the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in downtown St. Louis.
Brian Munoz
/
St. Louis Public Radio
Former St. Louis Alderman John Collins-Muhammad, center, walks out of the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. Courthouse in downtown St. Louis after being indicted on federal bribery charges on June 2.

One of three former St. Louis aldermen indicted last month in a bribery scheme is set to plead guilty to federal corruption charges.

In a document filed with the court Friday, an attorney for John Collins-Muhammad told the federal judges overseeing the case that his client and prosecutors had reached a plea deal, and that therefore there “are no further issues that the defendant wishes to raise by way of pretrial motion.”

Details of the deal were not released. Collins-Muhammad’s attorney, Joseph Flees, said a judge would likely hear the plea sometime in August.

One of Muhammad’s co-defendants, Jeffrey Boyd, has also said he will not raise any issues prior to going to trial. An attorney for Boyd would not clarify whether that meant his client has also reached a plea agreement.

Collins-Muhammad, Boyd and former board President Lewis Reed are accused of accepting cash, cars and other gifts in exchange for helping a developer receive incentives. All three have pleaded not guilty. Reed had not waived pretrial motions as of Friday afternoon.

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Rachel is the justice correspondent at St. Louis Public Radio.