ST. LOUIS — The number of aldermen calling for Lewis Reed to resign continued to grow Monday, as pressure built for the embattled president of the ºüÀêÊÓƵ Board of Aldermen to step down after his indictment last week on federal bribery charges.
By Monday afternoon, at least 10 of the board’s 25 aldermen had publicly called for Reed’s resignation. The calls came after Joe Vollmer, the alderman with the most continuous seniority and current board vice president, told the Post-Dispatch on Friday that after speaking with Reed he expected him to take a leave of absence, putting Vollmer in charge of board functions in the meantime.
There was no indication that Reed’s leave meant he would also give up the $90,000 salary he receives as president.
Alderman Annie Rice, 8th Ward, said she didn’t think that was appropriate.
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“In this case of federal indictment for wrongdoing in public office, I don’t know there’s a clear path, or there’s any path that would be acceptable to the citizens of the city short of resignation,†Rice said. “Everything else just muddies the waters. Is he still getting emails under his official account? Is he still making decisions? Is he still pulling strings? All of that would continue to be in question.â€
Monday evening, Reed’s office released a statement indicating he was working on a transition but not immediately resigning.
“Since appearing in court last Thursday, President Reed has been working to gain legal clarity on a transition of authority of critical functions of the Board of Aldermen President’s Office to the vice President of the Board of Aldermen,†the statement said. “The office of the president includes numerous legislative functions as well as executive functions that are governed by the city’s charter. To assure a seamless transition and minimum disruption, President Reed will continue to finalize these arrangements and will provide further updates soon.â€
Reed was first elected board president in 2007. The position, filled by voters in a citywide election, is one of the three most powerful in city government. In addition to presiding over the board and assigning bills to committee, the president is one of three members — along with the mayor and comptroller — of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, which controls city spending. It’s unclear whether Vollmer would also serve on that board, but it should be able to meet with two members.
Mayor Tishaura O. Jones said in a statement Monday afternoon that her office would monitor the case “as it progresses through the legal system ahead of the next Board of Estimate & Apportionment meeting on June 15.â€
Jones, who has clashed with Reed over city spending and other matters, stopped short of calling for his resignation but said in her statement that “President Reed needs to do what is in the best interest of our city in the face of these very serious federal bribery and corruption charges.â€
In addition to Rice, aldermen calling for Reed to resign include Anne Schweitzer, 13th Ward; Bill Stephens, 12th Ward; Tina Pihl, 17th Ward; Christine Ingrassia, 6th Ward; Michael Gras, 28th Ward; Bret Narayan, 24th Ward; Megan Green, 15th Ward; and Cara Spencer, 20th Ward.
Alderman Shane Cohn, 25th Ward, sent Reed a letter Monday saying that “given the magnitude of the charges ... I do not have confidence in your ability to be able to serve†as president of the board. He asked Reed to “consider resigning for the benefit of our colleagues and our city.â€
So far, none of Reed’s political allies have joined the call for his resignation. The aldermen asking him to step down mostly align with the more progressive wing of the Democratic Party, which has butted heads with Reed and his allies. Green ran against Reed for board president in 2019; Spencer beat Reed in the first round of voting for mayor in March.
The newest member of the board, Gras, on Sunday Tweeted: “why delay the inevitable?â€
“Hey Lewis, Do everyone a favor and resign ASAP,†Gras wrote.
Precedent for remaining in office
Reed would not be the first Board of Aldermen president to remain in office while facing federal charges. Former President Thomas Zych served for years after refusing to resign following his 1984 indictment on federal charges of extortion in the awarding of a cable television franchise. Zych was acquitted in 1987 but had declined to run for reelection that year.
Reed and two former aldermen, John Collins-Muhammad and Jeffrey Boyd, were indicted Thursday on bribery charges related to their acceptance of cash payments from a small business owner seeking property tax abatement legislation and the purchase of property from the city’s land bank.
The business owner was not identified in the indictment, but he appears to be Mohammed Almuttan, who co-owns and operates several convenience stores in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ and was charged in 2017 in a cigarette and synthetic marijuana trafficking sting. Many of his federal charges were dismissed in April, but he pleaded guilty to a remaining charge of conspiracy to traffic in contraband cigarettes.
On Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a motion in Almuttan’s case seeking the forfeiture of property Almuttan derived from the sale of contraband cigarettes, which Almuttan agreed to in his plea, according to the motion. The property includes over $2 million in cash and bank-held funds, two cars, 4,223 cartons of cigarettes and 25 firearms.
Almuttan, identified as John Doe in the indictment, allegedly made thousands of dollars in cash bribes to Collins-Muhammad, Boyd and Reed in exchange for their help passing tax abatements for a gas station he wanted to build at Von Phul Street and Interstate 70 and for another property in Boyd’s ward in the Mark Twain Industrial area.
Collins-Muhammad resigned from the board last month, three weeks before the indictment was unsealed. Boyd, who was also charged in a separate insurance fraud case, also unsealed Thursday, resigned Friday afternoon after taking part in the regular Board of Aldermen meeting. A resolution he sponsored for a tax abatement for a logistics company stalled after colleagues balked at the measure due to the nature of the federal charges against him.
Terry Niehoff, who appeared with Boyd in court Thursday, filed a motion Monday to withdraw as Boyd’s attorney. It wasn’t immediately clear why.