ST. LOUIS • Pine Lawn Mayor Sylvester Caldwell, indicted last year in federal court on charges that he extorted money from a towing firm, is now accused of extorting a convenience store.
From July 31, 2013, through June 11, 2014, Caldwell asked for at least four payments from the store, totaling $1,000, according to a superseding indictment handed up by a grand jury this month in U.S. District Court in ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
The store owner and another worker paid Caldwell in money orders “out of fear that … Caldwell would make trouble for the convenience store if they refused,†according to the complaint.
Caldwell attempted to disguise the payments as donations to the city, but he knew the payments were not donations, according to the complaint.
The complaint did not identify the men or the store.
People are also reading…
With the new charge, Caldwell, 55, now faces two felony counts of interfering with commerce by extortion. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Caldwell could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.
In August, he was accused of using secret code words to elicit payoff money from the owner of a towing firm in exchange for steering city business toward the company.
The indictment said Caldwell took cash payoffs totaling at least $1,600 between December and April in return for ordering Pine Lawn police to use the towing firm for official business.
Caldwell met the towing firm’s owner — identified in the indictment only as “John Doe†— in December 2013 on the lot of a Phillips 66 station, and using coded language, he told the man to pay him cash, the indictment says.
“I want a cup of Mountain Dew, uh, full of foam, two times for the Rams,†Caldwell said, holding up two fingers.
Doe replied, “I don’t have that. I got like three on me. All right, you want a cup of Mountain Dew?â€
“Yeah ... I just like the green Mountain Dew in the cup,†Caldwell responds.
The towing company owner then entered the Phillips 66, put $300 cash in a disposable cup, came out and handed the cup to Caldwell, the indictment says. Caldwell then agreed to Doe’s requests to talk to Pine Lawn police officers about using his firm.
Before leaving, Caldwell held up the cup and said, “Mountain Dew, Monday,†suggesting a cash payment on an upcoming Monday, the indictment says.
In a January 2014 meeting at the gas station, Caldwell told the man he was “thirsty,†wanted more “Mountain Dew in a cup,†and allegedly accepted another $300 payment from Doe. The following month, in phone calls between Caldwell and the towing company owner, Caldwell threatened to use a different towing company “until you learn to grow up.â€
Caldwell received $500 cash payment in February and $300 more in March, the indictment says.
FBI agents arrested Caldwell in August. He was freed on bail and continues to operate as mayor in Pine Lawn.