Former ºüÀêÊÓƵ Comptroller Virvus Jones claims he “got behind†on his sewer bills because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But public records tell a different story.
Jones has been in arrears for years on his Metropolitan ºüÀêÊÓƵ Sewer District account — going back to at least 2010, MSD records show.
Jones’ sewer-bill situation came to light last week when word spread that Jones was due in court next month as a defendant in a lawsuit by MSD for $5,837.
The suit was for unpaid bills on a home that Jones bought in 2008 on Cates Avenue in the West End neighborhood of ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
People are also reading…
When first contacted on Oct. 9, Jones said the debt began “during COVID, and I just got behind.â€
The monthly ledger history provided by MSD, however, shows that by the time a pandemic was declared in mid-March 2020, Jones’ overdue bill already had reached $6,479.
The MSD ledger also shows that in the last 13 years and three months — district records were only available back to June 2010 — the Cates account has been paid in full on just four occasions.
The last time the ledger showed a zero balance was seven years ago, Sept. 9, 2016. The ledger does not indicate any payments being made since then.
The largest debt on the ledger was $9,527 in December 2020.
A check of records from the city and ºüÀêÊÓƵ Circuit Court shows that since Jones bought the Cates house in December 2008, MSD has filed three lawsuits (including the pending action) and has twice placed liens on the property.
Also named as defendants in two of the three suits that MSD has filed against Jones are Ida Campbell-Jones, his daughter, and Chelsea Carter, his stepdaughter.
On Wednesday, Jones said he recently reached a settlement agreement with MSD. “I have settled all of my suits with MSD,†he said, but declined to offer further information.
When asked if he had paid all overdue MSD charges, Jones said, “That’s none of your business. That’s between me and MSD.â€
MSD spokesperson Bess McCoy clarified that the district and Jones have agreed to start a payment plan to satisfy the overdue payments.
“So on our part, it’s not considered settled until (the money owed) is paid,†she said.
The sewer district’s first legal action against Jones was in May 2012, when it placed a lien on the Cates property for $231 and filed suit against Jones. The case was dismissed in August and the lien was removed from the property.
In May 2017, a lien was placed on the property for $969. City records show that the 2017 lien remains in effect on the property.
MSD’s second lawsuit on the Cates property, for $7,586 and legal costs, was filed in December 2019. After the three defendants did not appear in court in June 2021, a judgment of $8,724 was issued against them.
McCoy said the district’s standard practice is that once a lawsuit has been adjudicated, that account is closed and a new account, at the same address, is opened.
When asked if MSD had closed the Jones account that was involved in the 2019 lawsuit and had started another account at the Cates address, McCoy said the district does not comment about specific accounts.
As to MSD’s collection procedure, McCoy explained the standard method:
The district does not place liens or file lawsuits until a residential customer owes at least $350 and has been overdue for at least 90 days.
Before filing a suit, the district calls the customer about the overdue bill. If that proves unsuccessful, MSD will try twice to recover the money through a collection agency. If the debt still is outstanding after 19 months, MSD turns the matter over to a law firm.
The district has more than 4,000 cases pending: 1,615 in ºüÀêÊÓƵ and 2,409 cases in ºüÀêÊÓƵ County. In the last 12 months, the district has filed suit 3,375 times, McCoy said.
Unlike other utilities, MSD does not have a history of shutting off service, even though it has the authority to do so, McCoy said. But because of complications of dealing with three separate water providers, shut-offs do not occur.
“Using liens is our best option for collecting on delinquent accounts,†McCoy said.
Jones was a ºüÀêÊÓƵ alderman and the city assessor before becoming comptroller, the city’s chief fiscal officer, in 1988. He resigned in 1995 after pleading guilty to felony fraud charges. He is a former campaign manager for his daughter, Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, and remains a close adviser.
MSD is a public entity that is governed by a six-member board of trustees, three each from ºüÀêÊÓƵ and ºüÀêÊÓƵ County.
All three sitting city trustees were appointed by former Mayor Lyda Krewson. In March, Mayor Jones will be able to appoint one new member.
From Eric Greitens to George Peach, 14 more ºüÀêÊÓƵ area political scandals
Courtney Curtis pleads guilty to misuse of campaign funds
Courtney Curtis, a former Missouri state representative from north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, resigned in 2020 and pleaded guilty the following year to misuse of campaign funds.Ìý
Curtis was sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to repay $47,867. He pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and admitted defrauding campaign donors by using money for personal expenses in 2016 and 2017, then filing false campaign finance reports to cover up his crimes.Ìý
Prosecutors said Curtis took 14 trips over 18 months, often with companions, and paid his rent and utilities, bought meals and took out cash withdrawals with the campaign money.
Read more.Ìý
Larry Arnowitz admits misuing campaign funds
Former ºüÀêÊÓƵ Alderman Larry Arnowitz was sentenced in 2020 to a year in federal prison and six months of house arrest after he admitted misusing $21,180 in campaign funds for his home mortgage and other personal expenses.
Arnowitz admitted defrauding donors between 2015 and 2019. U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith said in a court filing that Arnowitz “used his campaign account like his personal piggy bank.â€
Arnowitz was released from prison early and died in 2021.Ìý
Read more.Ìý
Steve Stenger used county staff and resources to help campaign donors
Former ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Executive Steve Stenger was sentenced in 2019 to 46 months in prison, and fined $250,000.
Stenger promised to give county business to a donor, John Rallo, who later received a sham consulting contract. Stenger also told others to ensure that Rallo and partners won bidding for two properties in Wellston, for millions less than the county paid to clean them up for sale.
He “repeatedly lied to the public to conceal his scheme and directed others to do the same,†U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith said.
“This defendant’s criminal conduct was breathtaking in its scope,†he said.
Goldsmith said that Stenger alsoÌýpunished or tried to punish his perceived opponents, including the ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Council, county employees who didn’t do his bidding and the son of a former state representative who opposed his election.
Stenger pleaded guilty to the federal charges within days of being indicted, forfeited his law and CPA licenses.Ìý
• Read more.
Eric Greitens resigns as governor
Eric Greitens resigned as governor in 2018 amid an impeachment probe. He had been charged earlier that year with felony invasion of privacy, but the charge was dropped.Ìý
The investigator hired by Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner, William Don Tisaby, later pleaded guilty to evidence tampering related to concealing documents and interview notes during his investigation.Ìý
Greitens was accused of taking and transmitting a semi-nude photo of a woman without her consent during a months-long affair in 2015.Ìý
Greitens is now running for Missouri's open U.S. Senate seat.Ìý
Read more.Ìý
Steve Webb convicted of stealing campaign funds
Steve Webb, a former Missouri state representative from north ºüÀêÊÓƵ County, pleaded guilty to felony theft after being accused of stealing $3,000 in campaign funds. He was sentenced in 2014 to 45 days in jail and five years' probation.Ìý
Webb, the husband of current ºüÀêÊÓƵ County Councilman Shalonda Webb, was chairman of the Missouri Legislative Black Caucus.
Read more.
Larry Williams, then treasurer, had 'phantom' employee
In three decades in office, former ºüÀêÊÓƵ city Treasurer Larry Williams survived bounced checks, scathing state audits and drug-dealing employees. What finally brought him down was a "ghost."
In 2011, Williams' friend and employee Fred Robinson was arrested by federal agents for fraud and theft, after stealing roughly $250,000 from a charter school. It turned out that Robinson also had enjoyed a phantom job on Williams' payroll for at least five years.
The U.S. Attorney's office said Robinson was a classic "ghost payroller," submitting false time sheets, taking pay for false hours worked and making about $35,000 a year starting in 2006. Over at least five years, the city paid Robinson as much as $175,000 for a no-show job.
Robinson was sentenced to two years in federal prison; Williams was never charged.
• Read more.
Rod Jetton choked and hit a woman during a sexual encounter
What began as an attempt to reconnect with an old acquaintance ended with a former speaker of the Missouri House being charged with felony assault.
Along the way, the 2009 scandal that torpedoed former Speaker Rod Jetton’s political consulting business brought a new snicker-inducing term to the political vernacular under the Statehouse dome:
Green balloons.
The sordid story: A recently divorced woman who, as a kid, attended the Baptist church in Charleston where Jetton’s father was the minister reached out to the recently divorced former speaker.
The two soon agreed to meet for a sexual encounter. She and Jetton agreed on a “safe word†she could use if she wanted things to stop.
The woman, 35 at the time, later told police she was choked and smacked by Jetton and then she passed out, drunk on wine, until the next morning.
"You should have said 'green balloons,'" Jetton told the woman the next morning, according to a charging document.
Jetton, a Republican who was elected in 2000, played a key role in the Republican takeover in the 2002 elections. When he was elected speaker in 2005, he endorsed "personal responsibility" and pledged to protect "traditional family values."
Jetton eventually pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault, and was placed on probation.
• Read more.
T.D. El-Amin pleads guilty to soliciting and accepting bribe
Missouri State Rep. T.D. El-Amin was sentenced in 2009 to 18 months in federal prison for soliciting and accepting a bribe.Ìý
El-Amin, a Democratic state representative from ºüÀêÊÓƵ, took cash bribes from a gas station that was covertly cooperating with the FBI.Ìý
He was released from prison in 2011 after serving most of his 18-month prison.
Read more.Ìý
Jeff Smith lied to the FBI
Missouri state Sen. Jeff Smith, D-ºüÀêÊÓƵ, and two of his campaign aides spent years covering up their role in a 2004 election shenanigan tied to a shady group, "Voters for Truth."
The lie would eventually cost Smith his Senate seat, and his freedom. The former campaign workers — Steve Brown and Nick Adams — earned probation for their roles in the scheme. Brown also would have to resign a Missouri House seat he won in 2008.
It all started with an anonymous mailer in the summer of 2004. At the time, Smith was trying to elbow his way into the U.S. House, after longtime U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt, D-Mo., announced his retirement.
Winning wouldn't be easy. Smith had to distinguish himself in a crowded Democratic primary field and take aim at Russ Carnahan, whose famous last name carried serious weight among Missouri Democrats.
As later reported in the Post-Dispatch, someone identified in court records as "John Doe" with the group "Voters for Truth" coordinated with the Smith campaign in July 2004 to blast out mailers critical of "Rusty Carnahan." The fliers did not meet federal disclosure requirements.
In a sworn affidavit in September 2004, Smith denied knowing who created and sent the fliers.
The lie fell apart when investigators caught up with "John Doe" — a Democratic operative named Milton "Skip" Ohlsen III (who would later be convicted of an unrelated Clayton parking garage bombing). Through Ohlsen they got to Brown, Smith's campaign worker, then convinced Brown to turn on Smith.
• .
Illinois' governor had a 'golden' opportunity
In 2003, former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, a Republican who had recently retired after one term, was indicted on federal charges including racketeering, bribery, extortion, money laundering and tax fraud. Most of the charges related to his selling of state influence while in office.
Ryan's immediate successor, Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich — never one to be outdone — was arrested in 2008 on federal charges that he attempted to sell the vacant U.S. Senate seat of then-President-elect Barack Obama.
"I've got this thing, and it's f------ golden," Blagojevich famously said in one wiretapped discussion about whom he should appoint to the seat and what he might get for it. "I'm just not giving it up for f------ nothing."
Ryan and Blagojevich both were convicted and served time. Blagojevich is still in. Together they have, in a touchingly bipartisan way, given Illinois a unique place in America's political history: It may well be the only state ever to see two consecutive governors led away in handcuffs.
“In any state, it would be awful if two governors were convicted in a century," U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald told reporters after Blagojevich's 2011 sentencing, "and yet we’ve seen it twice in five years."
• Read more.
1995: Virvus Jones admitted to tax fraud
ºüÀêÊÓƵ Comptroller Virvus Jones, in 1995, was sentenced to serve a year and a day in federal prison for cheating on federal income taxes.
Jones, father of current ºüÀêÊÓƵ Mayor Tishaura Jones, was one of several people indicted after the Democratic primary for comptroller in 1993. The indictment against Virvus Jones accused him of laundering campaign funds for a “stalking horse†candidate in the comptroller race to siphon votes away from a political rival.
After negotiating for three months, Jones pleaded guilty to two felony counts of tax fraud for not reporting funds he received in 1990 and 1991, totaling $118,000 from his campaign fund and a family member's guardian account.
Jones resigned after entering the plea.
Judith Moriarty convicted of misconduct, ousted from office
Secretary of State Judith K. Moriarty was convicted of misconduct in December 1994 and ousted from office, the first time the Missouri Supreme Court had taken such an action.Ìý
The court found that Moriarty had backdated paperwork for her son, Timothy Moriarty, when he filed to run for a state House seat earlier that year.Ìý
Moriarty was the first woman to serve as Missouri's secretary of state and was the first statewide official to be removed through impeachment in state history.Ìý
Read more.Ìý
George Peach caught with prostitute, and with his hand in the cookie jar
George Peach boasted that he didn't make deals with criminals. He was the longest-serving ºüÀêÊÓƵ circuit attorney, and regularly lambasted judges for not handing down tough enough sentences.
Peach also cracked down on prostitution and vowed to chase pornographers out of the city. What he didn't talk about was his "Jekyll-Hyde" double life. For 10 years, he secretly consorted with prostitutes in hotel rooms under the alias "Larry Johnson."
Using that name, he took calls from prostitutes and pimps at his office in the old Municipal Courts Building.
In an eight-month Post-Dispatch investigation in 1992, reporters disclosed that Peach financed his extracurricular activities with cash from a confidential city checking account he controlled. He also took money from a fund set up to aid crime victims.
Peach's secrets began to unravel the day he propositioned an undercover ºüÀêÊÓƵ County policewoman in a hotel room near the airport. The county prosecutor and police chief spent a day denying that Peach had been arrested. The chief finally admitted it after a reporter told him the newspaper was running the story anyway.
Prostitutes then called the paper to say that they now recognized Peach as a longtime customerÌý— under a different name. They claimed he had paid them tens of thousands of dollars.
It was unlikely that Peach could afford to pay that much out of his $64,000 annual salary. The reporters immediately set about finding where the money came from.
Through a confidential source, they got access to some of Peach's office checks. They found that Peach had deposited a $2,500 public check where it had no business being: in his private checking account at another bank.
In response to this discovery, Peach handed the reporters a handwritten sheet of yellow legal paper saying he had used the money to pay his taxesÌý—Ìýand then claiming he had immediately repaid it.
He offered no proof for his story or the repayment.
The publicity from that front-page story forced Peach to open the records of his confidential office bank account. He delayed for two weeks and destroyed many of his records.
The reporters wheeled a big, leased photocopier into Peach's office and spent two weeks copying the checks and records he hadn't destroyed.
In the records, reporters found an envelope containing seven, crisp $100 bills. They handed the money over to PeachÌý—Ìýand went on to disclose that he had kept thousands of unaccounted-for dollars in cash in his office.
Piecing together hundreds of check records, the reporters proved that Peach had taken at least $12,000 from the city checking accountÌý—Ìýsometimes just before his encounters with a prostitute. The missing records might have proven an amount far greater.
The newspaper hired handwriting experts who determined that the signature of "Larry Johnson" was really that of Peach; the prosecutor had been secretly charging hotel bills to the city under his alias.
Peach was indicted on 11 counts of stealing. He denied everythingÌý—Ìýright up to the day he pleaded guilty to seven counts of felony theft and official misconduct.
A judge sentenced Peach to three years in prison but immediately suspended the sentence and placed him on probation. Peach had to surrender his law license and make partial restitution.
Webster sentenced for conspiracy and embezzlement of state resources
Missouri Attorney General William L. Webster was sentenced in 1993 to two years in prison for conspiracy and embezzlement of state resources.
The sentence came after an unusual 11-day hearing where a federal judge found that Webster didn't fully accept responsibility for his crimes. The judge said that Webster didn't know that an assistant was extorting campaign contributions from the state's Second Injury Fund. But the judge also found that Webster should have realized thatÌýsolicitation of contributions from lawyers with claims against the fund was a conflict of interest and stopped it.
• Read more.
Thomas Zych found innocent after being charged for cable conspiracy
Thomas E. Zych, president of the Board of Alderman, was acquitted in 1987 after a jury trial of several men.
The charges arose out of attempts to secure the city's cable television franchise.
Convicted were Eugene P. Slay, Leroy Tyus, a former Democratic committeeman, and James D. Cullen, an attorney. A jury found the group not guilty of an accusation that they conspired to extort money or stock from two companies seeking the cable television franchise in 1982. The jury found all the men but Zych committed fraud in allegations connected to a different company. Those convictions were later thrown out by the courts.
The group was indicted in 1984.Ìý
In the 1990s, Zych moved to rural Missouri and was a Methodist minister.