A member of a St. Louis political dynasty has been indicted on federal corruption charges.
Prosecutors on Monday unsealed the case against former Alderman Brandon Bosley. A grand jury indicted him last week on three counts related to a scheme to defraud an insurance company.
Bosley did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He did not have an attorney listed in court records.The allegations
According to federal prosecutors, in March 2021, Bosley purchased a 2010 Toyota Prius from a local business owner for far less than market value. About five months later, a driver struck the Prius when it was parked outside Bosley’s aldermanic headquarters. The other driver’s insurance company, Missouri Farm Bureau Insurance, eventually contacted Bosley regarding the crash.
Prosecutors allege that Bosley asked the businessman, identified as John Doe in the indictment, to inflate the cost of the repairs to the vehicle so it would appear totaled.
“Of course, you know their whole business is based on trying to maintain as many dollars as they can,” Bosley allegedly told John Doe, according to excerpts of a conversation in the indictment. “F*** that insurance company. I don 't give two s***ts about ' em. … I'm not bothered by hitting them with as much as we can . … I told them I'm an elected official. "
After the insurance company raised questions about the labor cost estimates, Bosley and John Doe allegedly lowered the estimate, although still an inflated amount.
The insurance company later paid out nearly $8,000, but Bosley first had to register the car in order to receive the check; that happened more than a year after the purchase. He later authorized John Doe to buy the car back at auction for $2,000, and make the needed repairs.
In exchange, prosecutors say Bosley lifted a moratorium on liquor licenses in his ward, which benefitted a convenience store John Doe owned.
Missouri Farm Bureau declined to comment on the case.
Clues in the indictment indicate that John Doe is Mohammed Almuttan, who was at the center of a bribery scandal that toppled three of Bosley’s former colleagues – Lewis Reed, Jeffrey Boyd and John Collins-Muhammad. All of them are currently in federal prison.
Scion of a dynasty
When Bosley was first elected in 2017 to represent the old Third Ward, he became the fourth member of his family to serve in political office. He took over the seat from his father, Freeman Bosley Sr., who had been an alderman since 1977. His brother, Freeman Bosley Jr., was the city’s first Black mayor, and his mother, Lucinda Frazier, remains a Democratic committeewoman.
Bosley’s sister LaKeySha was later elected to the state House.
Bosley unsuccessfully sought the new 14th Ward seat in March, failing to make it out of the primary election. He lost to former state Rep. Rasheen Aldridge and Realtor Ebony Washington.
