ST. LOUIS– Former alderman Jeffrey Boyd, one of three former city lawmakers set to be sentenced next week in federal court after pleading guilty in a bribery case and an unrelated insurance fraud count, is asking the court for a sentence of probation ahead of a Tuesday hearing.

What You Need To Know

  • Three St. Louis aldermen were charged in June with accepting bribes as part of a tax abatement development
  • Boyd was also charged in an unrelated case involving insurance fraud
  • Boyd could face up to 37 months in prison
  • Sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 6

Federal sentencing guidelines recommend up to 37 months in prison. Prosecutors said in a court filing earlier this week that “significant” prison time was called for in the cases of Boyd, former Board President Lewis Reed and former alderman John Collins-Muhammad, who admitted to accepting bribes to back a tax abatement for a development project. All three have now requested probation and other terms short of imprisonment.

“It is the position of the United States that anything less would ignore the extent of these Defendants’ criminal conduct and the substantial harm Defendants’ conduct caused to the public,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith wrote in the government’s filing. “There are real victims in this case; the citizens of St. Louis who make their homes here or who operate their businesses here, whose taxes paid the salaries of these Defendants, who follow the rules and who have every right to expect their elected officials to follow those same rules, and whose trust in our system of government has been diminished by the criminal acts of these Defendants.”

In a brief filed late Wednesday, Boyd, through counsel, asked the court for a sentence of probation with six months home confinement and community service. 

The sentencing memorandum said Boyd has been treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder stemming from his military service in the U.S. Army and has been treated for mental health issues for years, and has also had an alcohol problem.

Like Collins-Muhammad, Boyd’s counsel points to the fact that his client accepted money, but makes the distinction that he didn’t ask for it.

“Jeffrey Boyd received a grand total of $9,500 in cash and $2,344 in car repairs for his assistance and not once did Jeffrey ask for these payments. He was guilty in that he accepted them from a John Doe who was working with the Government to procure a good deal for himself. This is not fair, but nonetheless, Jeffrey Boyd accepted these payments and committed these offenses.”

Boyd has asked the court to allow eight witnesses to testify on his behalf at sentencing Dec. 6.