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ST. LOUIS — Former Alderman Jeffrey Boyd and ex-Aldermanic President Lewis Reed on Friday pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges in back-to-back court hearings in St. Louis.

Boyd, 58, and Reed, 59, admitted they accepted bribes from a small business owner in exchange for approving legislation authorizing property tax breaks. Boyd also pleaded guilty to a separate, two-count wire fraud indictment that said he fraudulently sought $22,000 from an insurance company for damaged vehicles he lied about owning.

Boyd’s hearing came first on Friday, followed by Reed, each before U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark. On Tuesday, fellow ex-Alderman John Collins-Muhammad, 31, pleaded guilty before the same judge to charges of bribery, racketeering and wire fraud.

If the judge accepts Boyd’s and Reed’s plea agreements, they, like Collins-Muhammad, face a potential prison term of two to four years. All will pay restitution in the case. Each of the former city officials has sentencing hearings set in December.

All three men pleaded guilty as charged and were released on bail until their sentencing hearings.

Boyd had been an alderman since 2003, during which time he had three unsuccessful runs for other offices — once for mayor and twice for city treasurer. He served the 22nd Ward, which elected Boyd’s replacement this week. His lawyer, Lenny Kagan, declined comment after Friday’s hearing.

Reed was one of the most powerful officials in city government as president of the Board of Aldermen. He was first elected to the position in 2007, and he controlled bill assignments to aldermanic committees and led the board’s weekly meetings. He also sat on St. Louis’ top fiscal board, along with the mayor and comptroller, that controls city spending.

After Reed’s hearing, he and his lawyer Scott Rosenblum left the courthouse and walked through reporters and videographers in silence before stepping into Rosenblum’s matte-finish, slate-colored Aston Martin SUV.

All three aldermen resigned in recent months. Collins-Muhammad quit in May, announcing mistakes without details but later going public about a plea agreement. Boyd and Reed resigned after being indicted in June.

The men were indicted on charges of accepting cash bribes from a business owner identified in the indictment as “John Doe,� whose conversations with the three ex-city officials were recorded. The properties correspond to sites owned by Mohammed Almuttan that were the subject of federal subpoenas sent to the city’s development arm. Almuttan co-owns and operates several gas stations and convenience stores in north St. Louis and north St. Louis County.

Jeffrey Boyd’s case

Boyd admitted a scheme related to Doe’s purchase of a commercial property on Geraldine Avenue in Boyd’s 22nd Ward, on the north side, from the Land Reutilization Authority, which owns thousands of vacant lots and abandoned buildings throughout St. Louis.

Boyd said the site could be worth more than $100,000, but he wrote a letter to former LRA director Laura Costello in August 2020 supporting Doe’s much lower offer for the property. Doe thanked him.

“My pleasure,� the alderman replied. “I’m very PRO BUSINESS.�

Boyd worked with Doe on a tax abatement for the property and admitted to accepting a cash bribe for the work. At one point, he advised Doe to “pump some numbers up� on his estimated construction costs. Boyd filled out the tax abatement application for Doe, writing in it that he planned to spend $300,000 on the project when Doe told him he estimated just $125,000.

Prosecutors said Boyd accepted from Doe a total of $9,500 in cash and repairs worth $2,344 to two vehicles Boyd owned. Collins-Muhammad received an additional $1,000 cash, the indictment says, for introducing Doe to Boyd.

In the separate insurance-related case, Boyd and Doe are accused of agreeing to split the proceeds of insurance fraud related to a January 2021 accident at Doe’s used car lot in Jennings.

After Doe’s insurance company wouldn’t cover the damage, prosecutors said Boyd falsely claimed that three of the damaged vehicles were owned by a used car company that Boyd owns. Boyd’s insurance company ultimately rejected the claim, prosecutors said.

Boyd pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, one count of theft and bribery, and one count of racketeering and bribery.

Lewis Reed’s case

Reed admitted Friday to accepting $9,000 in cash from John Doe in relation to tax abatement bills. He also admitted receiving another $6,000 in cash and $3,500 in campaign contributions from Doe for helping Doe pursue city contracts for Doe’s trucking company and to obtain city certification for the firm as a minority business enterprise.

“Do cash rather than checks?� Doe asked Reed, according to one conversation outlined in the indictment.

“That’ll work, yeah,� Reed responded.

Doe then counted out $2,000 with an automatic money counter.

“That’s nice,� Reed said.

Reed admitted helping Doe get tax breaks for Doe’s property in exchange for cash bribes and campaign contributions in thousands, some of which he accepted at his St. Louis campaign headquarters. Reed also signed tax abatement bills for Doe last fall and in March and submitted those to the mayor for final approval.

Reed pleaded guilty to one count of theft and bribery, and one count of racketeering and bribery.

As attendees exited the courtroom Friday, Reed stood toward the center lectern with Rosenblum nearby, patted Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith’s back and said something to him.

Goldsmith returned a tight smile and left the courtroom. He wouldn’t tell a reporter what Reed said.