S E RV I N G T H E P U B L I C S I N C E 1 878 • W I N N E R O F 1 8 P U L I TZ E R P R I Z E S
Monday • 02.05.2018 • $2.00
STENGER DONOR WON MARKETING DEAL IN COUNTY • Port Authority’s goal was to boost area’s image after 2014 Ferguson shooting, unrest • Winning firm had little track record, wasn’t low bidder • Despite touted ties with Montel Williams, little seems to have been accomplished
SCREENSHOT FROM KTVI VIDEO
In 2015, ex-TV talk show host Montel Williams testified before a Missouri House committee in support of legislation to legalize medicinal marijuana.
Four Missouri legislative seats up for grabs Tuesday House seats have been held by Republicans; Democrats hoping to shift momentum
BY JACOB BARKER • St. Louis Post-Dispatch
BY JACK SUNTRUP • St. Louis Post-Dispatch
It had been almost two years since social unrest that started in Ferguson rocked the region. But in May 2016, the St. Louis County Port Authority decided the St. Louis area needed a marketing strategy. Sheila Sweeney, CEO of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, which staffs St. Louis County economic development agencies such as the Port Authority, proposed spending up to $100,000 on the effort. A firm would be hired to develop a communications strategy to “limit and mitigate the negative effects of social unrest in St. Louis County and begin to promote the region to itself and other communities,” according to Port Authority meeting minutes. Yet the firm that won the contract, Cardinal Creative Consulting, didn’t have much of a track
JEFFERSON CITY • Democrats around the
See CONTRACT • Page A6
See DEMOCRATS • Page A7
With ‘Jesus knocking,’ church steps up to help
country have seized legislative seats held by Republicans in the past year, but Missouri Democrats have flailed, unable to flip anything. On Tuesday, Democrats get four more chances to make a dent in the GOP supermajority in the Missouri House, with four special elections to fill vacancies in the lower chamber. All of the seats were previously held by Republicans. The closest contest to St. Louis will be in the Jefferson County-based 97th District, a seat sought by Republican David Linton and Democrat Mike Revis. Farther south, Republican Chris Dinkins faces Democrat Jim Scaggs in the 144th District, which takes in all of Iron County and parts of Reynolds, Washington and Wayne counties. The two remaining races are in rural western
Ruff weather, but the pet parade goes on
LAURIE SKRIVAN • lskrivan@post-dispatch.com
Dog owner Stephen Hine of St. Louis snuggles with his dog Newman during the 25th annual Beggin’ Pet Parade in Soulard on Sunday. BY ASHLEY JOST • St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS • It was 29 degrees when the first few poodles and mutts crossed the finish line of the 25th annual Beggin’ Pet Parade. The crowds this year were a little light, but the enthusiasm was still high. “I shouldn’t be able to move on this street,” Jackie Wibbenmeyer said. “It’s usually filled with dogs and people.” She was talking about 12th Street just north of Russell Boulevard in Soulard. That’s where See PARADE • Page A6 LAURIE SKRIVAN • lskrivan@post-dispatch.com
“I feel safe here and good here. It’s one way I am able to be here (in the U.S.) and see my family. I am waiting for some hope,” said Alex Garcia, who sits for a portrait on Jan. 28 in Christ Church United Church of Christ in Maplewood. Garcia took sanctuary in the church in September after he was told to report for deportation.
Maplewood congregation takes in undocumented immigrant when he faces deportation after 13 years in this country BY DOUG MOORE St. Louis Post-Dispatch
MAPLEWOOD • Alex Garcia is not a
religious man, but he thanks God for the brick church on the corner of Bellevue and Bruno avenues. It has been his home for the past four months, a sanctuary from deportation. He lives in a makeshift apartment in the basement, more than 150 miles from his wife and five children in Poplar Bluff, Mo. Garcia came to the United States
from Honduras 13 years ago, looking for work and for an escape from an unstable country. He found a job, then love, and began building a family and a steady income working construction. A few years back, he caught the attention of the federal agency charged with enforcing immigration laws. Twice, he got a one-year reprieve to stay in the country. But last summer, under a new administration, his third request was denied. He was told in September to report to an office of U.S. Immigration and Customs En-
forcement, better known as ICE. He was being sent back to the country he fled. Instead, he showed up at the doorstep of Christ Church United Church of Christ, a congregation that “welcomes all. No exceptions.” The platform of acceptance the church has stood proudly on for decades would be put to the test like never before. With the arrival of Garcia, the church was wading into murky See SANCTUARY • Page A11
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Eagles win Super Bowl Philadelphia defeats New England, 41-33 SPORTS • B1
Really cold noses
TODAY
TOMORROW
35°/22°
33°/21°
MOSTLY CLOUDY
PM SNOW LIKELY
WEATHER • B10
Messenger • Iwo Jima veteran silenced by veterans organization • A2
Bike-sharing programs not just looking in city for customers • A4
Incoming music director puts on a show at St. Louis Symphony Orchestra • A4
1 M POST-DISPATCH WEATHERBIRD ®
Vol. 140, No. 36 ©2018
Have A Heart, Heat A Home! 18th
Rise ‘N Shine for Heat
Drop Off a $1, Get a Free Sausage ‘N Egg or Egg Biscuit February 9th 100% Sales & Volunteer Tips help Needy with Utilities
Heatupstlouis.org
AD MADE POSSIBLE THROUGH AN
Also donate to Heat-Up St. Louis, Inc c/o UMB Bank, P.O. Box 868, St. Louis, MO 63188
GRANT
Serving Missouri & Illinois
FROM A1
A6 • ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
M 1 • MONDAY • 02.05.2018
Money paid out exceeded what board had approved CONTRACT • FROM A1
that year.
record. It was only registered as a business in March 2015. And it wasn’t even the low bidder on the Port Authority contract. But Cardinal Creative’s president, John G. Rallo, had a trump card: media personality and former daytime TV host Montel Williams. That was Cardinal Creative’s pitch to the Port Authority, that the firm would “deploy Montel’s services as needed” including “on the ground meetings with community leaders and residents, on air interviews outlining the positive steps being taken by St. Louis County to help reestablish trust, and relations with both law enforcement and local government.” Williams had long-standing ties to St. Louis, according to the proposal, “thru (sic) his friend and business partner, John Rallo.” That pitch sold Sweeney. In a statement to the Post-Dispatch, she said Williams is indeed why Rallo’s firm was chosen. “Montel was in St. Louis to gather these positive story ideas on reinvestment and community-led improvements,” Sweeney continued. “He then took those stories and helped make the national media connections we needed.” Partnership spokeswoman Katy Jamboretz pointed to an oped on an NBC website in September 2016 authored by Williams about political conservatives and race. Williams mentions Ferguson in the seventh paragraph of his commentary and misspells St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger’s name. “After a simple Google search, I discovered that Ferguson is on the upswing,” he wrote, linking to a Post-Dispatch article. “The local community and city council has teamed up with County Executive Steve Senger (sic) to aggressively pursue development projects, bring investment and jobs to the community, and incubate small businesses — minority-owned businesses among them.” In an email, Jamboretz said “Montel” had several conversations with Neil Cavuto, a Fox News anchor and commentator, on the region’s behalf. “He successfully got Neil to tone down the way he was talk-
MISLED BOARD?
Sheila Sweeney, CEO of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, proposed spending up to $100,000 on marketing plan.
John G. Rallo was president of Cardinal Creative Consulting when it won a contract to do marketing for the region.
WHAT IS A PORT AUTHORITY? Missouri law allows local governments to form port authorities on navigable rivers. The St. Louis County Port Authority is unique because it receives at least $4 million in annual revenue from lease payments from the River City Casino in Lemay. Many port authorities focus on river commerce, but the St. Louis County Port Authority funds very little related to the Missouri or Mississippi river commerce. It helped fund the failed effort to build a practice facility for the St. Louis Blues in Creve Coeur Lake Park, acquired the parts of the vacant Jamestown Mall and paid lawyers to help prepare valuable county-owned property in downtown Clayton for sale.
ing about Ferguson and St. Louis and portray the region in a more even-handed way,” Jamboretz said. As for Williams reaching out to local government or meeting with community groups in Ferguson? “I think I’d know if that happened,” said Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III. In fact, the region already had a post-Ferguson marketing effort to promote the region. Called the Regional Marketing Collaborative, it was co-founded by the St. Louis Regional Chamber, the St. Louis Civic Pride Foundation, the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission (CVC) and the Partnership. Even though the Partnership was listed as a co-founder of the Marketing Collaborative, the CVC, a major driver of the effort, wasn’t sure who Cardinal Creative was. “We’ve never worked with that firm and we’re not aware of them,” a CVC spokesman said. “We’re not aware of Montel Williams coming for anything related to the Marketing Collaborative.” Attempts to reach an agent for Williams weren’t immediately successful.
TIES TO RALLO The Port Authority contract with Cardinal Creative Consulting is the latest example of a Partnership-run entity working closely with an entity tied to Rallo. Rallo is involved in more businesses than communications and branding. He is president of Cardinal Insurance Group and B&B Packaging Group and managing partner of Brentwood Capital Partners, according to documents from the Partnership and his LinkedIn profile. Rallo hails from the family that once operated one of the region’s most prominent construction firms, C. Rallo Construction. Newspaper articles indicate his father is Chuck N. Rallo, the third generation to lead the firm. Chuck N. Rallo and a brother later broke off to form CMR Construction, which they left in 2000. Through his companies, John G. Rallo has given at least $20,000 in campaign contributions to Stenger. As the Post-Dispatch reported in August, a group made up of Rallo, former Anheuser-Busch executive Corey Christanell and Doug LaClair of LaClair Construction Services, last year bought two Wellston industrial parks that a St. Louis County
St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger said he knows John Rallo, a political contributor, “from the business community.”
economic development agency had spent millions of dollars cleaning up. The price was well below their appraised values and the request for proposals was not advertised widely. Tenants and development plans for the sites aren’t yet clear. Rallo and Christanell were also part of a group that received a $489,000 loan in early 2017 through a program operated by the Partnership. It was used to reduce the principal on a loan for a building they bought on North Warson Road in September 2016. Including companies they are affiliated with, Rallo and Christanell have given Stenger’s campaign fund at least a combined $40,000 since 2014. (Christanell’s name does not appear on documents related to Cardinal Creative Consulting LLC). Rallo did not return messages seeking comment. Christanell did not return a call for this article. Stenger said in a statement he knows Rallo “from the business community” and that “the PostDispatch narrative concerning my campaign contributions is misleading and tiresome.” He added he has raised $3.2 million from thousands of contributors. Stenger has distanced himself from the Partnership, noting many board members of its various arms were appointed by his predecessors and that he doesn’t control its actions. Still, top staff at the Partnership turned over in the year after his administration settled into the county executive’s office. Longtime director Denny Coleman retired in 2015 and Sweeney, for years the chair of the Port Authority, was tapped by the board as CEO of the Partnership. The general counsel and other top officials at the agency also departed
Sweeney pitched the contract with Rallo’s firm as $100,000 to the Port Authority Board, and the language approved by the board in May 2016 said the contract was not to exceed $100,000. But the contract Sweeney actually signed with Rallo a few weeks later was for more: $130,000. The contract called for three payments in equal installments of $43,333. All of it was paid early December 2016. Five days later, after paying Cardinal Creative above what the board had authorized, Sweeney reported to the board that an additional $30,000 in communication consulting services from Cardinal Creative had been needed, according to minutes and agendas. Port Authority board members contacted by the Post-Dispatch did not have much to say about the Cardinal Creative contract. Nanci Napoli, a longtime board member, deferred comment to the Partnership’s general counsel, Dustin Allison, “since we, on the board, are not involved with day-to-day operations.” Greg Hayden, another longtime board member, said he remembered approving the contract but would have to go back through his notes before providing any detail on what the company has done for the Port Authority. He did not respond to subsequent emails asking what he had found. Johnny Little, whose marketing firm bid almost $14,000 less for the contract than Cardinal Creative, said he followed up with the Partnership to find out who had won but never heard back. Little, a former spokesman for St. Louis Public Schools and local television producer, runs eLittle Communications. It was working as the communications consultant for the city of Ferguson at the time the contract was out for bid. “What?” Little said, when told he was beat out by a firm that claimed to have connections to Montel Williams. “He’s not even from St. Louis.” Jacob Barker • 314-340-8291 @jacobbarker on Twitter jbarker@post-dispatch.com
Smaller-than-usual crowd attends yearly parade in Soulard PARADE • FROM A1
hundreds of humans registered their pets for the annual parade. Wibbenmeyer and her family have driven to Soulard from south St. Louis County every year for about 12 years, decked out in purple, gold and green, per Mardi Gras tradition. Purina spokesman Daniel Koehler said about 500 people pre-registered for the annual parade and at least 500 registered on site. The crowd was smaller than usual, and he pointed to the weather as a cause. “It was 70 and sunny last year, and today it was about 30 and cloudy,” he said. “All things considered ... we’re pretty happy with how things turned out.” Everyone who participated in the parade paid a $10 registration fee, which was donated to Open Door Animal Sanctuary. The charity aspect is what has brought Maggie Hill, her family and her fur babies out every year for almost two decades. “It’s a good cause, and that’s worth it,” she said. They live in Edwardsville. “Plus it’s the biggest socialization opportunity of the year for the dogs.” Her two dogs — a pit bull mix and an Australian shepherd mix — were decked out in Mardi Gras-themed costumes, like many others. The attire ranged from jokers to Cajun chefs. A handful of pups had their fur dyed. Others wore theme-free sweaters to just stay warm. Longtime parade attendee Rachel Vaughn isn’t convinced the cold is what kept the crowds away. She blames the Super Bowl. “I’ve traipsed through literally a foot of ice and snow to come to this before,” she said. “I promise you we’ve been here in much colder temperatures than what we have today.” Vaughn said she drove in from Marshfield, Mo., this year, and the four-hour drive was worth it. This is her 15th year coming out with friends. Koehler said he and other organizers were surprised to see as many people lining the streets of the short parade route as there were, considering the temperatures and the occasional, frigid gust of wind. Street vendors for beer and warm food helped. As the parade reached the end near the Soulard Market, dozens of people skirted off west on Lafayette Avenue toward their cars. A woman being all but dragged by her costume-wearing German shepherd shouted to a Post-Dispatch reporter that it was “just too dang cold” and she had to leave. Snow started falling across the city within an hour after the parade ended.
PHOTOS BY LAURIE SKRIVAN • lskrivan@post-dispatch.com
Dog owner Matt Scheer enjoys a beer and warms up with his dachshund Yadi on Sunday before the Beggin’ Pet Parade.
A dog named Bentley was dressed as an Ewok for the annual Beggin’ Pet Parade. A dog owner dyed his poodle to look like a zebra.
Dog owner Kent Caruthers walks his dog Thor, dressed as a dragon, during Sunday’s parade.
Ashley Jost • 314-340-8169 @ajost on Twitter ajost@post-dispatch.com
“I drove back into town just for this,” said dog owner Danny Vaughn of Marshfield, who dressed his dog Turbo, a boxer/Great Dane mix, in island attire.
S E RV I N G T H E P U B L I C S I N C E 1 878 • W I N N E R O F 1 8 P U L I TZ E R P R I Z E S
Monday • 04.16.2018 • $2.00
ST. LOUIS COUNTY PORT AUTHORITY
Board won’t discuss contract discrepancy $130,000 for marketing • So far, firm hired to market region can point to 1 published piece Potentially ‘bad advice’ • County council chairman has concerns over some decisions
BY JACOB BARKER St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Members of the St. Louis County Port Authority board had little problem two years ago approving a marketing contract for $100,000 with a firm that said it had ties to TV personality Montel Williams. But last week, those board members didn’t want to talk about why the con-
tract, signed by St. Louis Economic Development Partnership CEO Sheila Sweeney, actually was for $130,000. “I would prefer you just asked staff — Sheila’s our spokesperson,” longtime Port Authority Chair Frank McHugh said at the April 10 meeting when asked by the Post-Dispatch about the contract. “Let’s get with staff and get all the
U.S. to turn up heat on Russia New sanctions would punish Putin for enabling Assad’s chemical weapons program
See CONTRACT • Page A4
“Everyone is going to feel it at this point.” Nikki Haley, ambassador to the U.N.
HOLY COW, THAT’S HEAVY Teams compete to drag cargo jet in fundraiser for Special Olympics Missouri
“Good souls will not be humiliated.” Bashar Assad, president of Syria
BY CAROL MORELLO AND JAMES MCAULEY Washington Post
WASHINGTON • The admin-
istration of President Donald Trump signaled Sunday that it would impose new sanctions as soon as this week on Russia for supporting the Syrian regime as it allegedly conducted a deadly chemical attack against its own people. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, announced on Sunday the sanctions and Trump’s commitment to staying involved in the Syria crisis, hours before French President Emmanuel Macron took credit for helping turn around Trump’s plan to withdraw U.S. troops. “Ten days ago, President Trump was saying that the United States would disengage from Syria,” Macron said Sunday night. “We convinced him that it was necessary to
See SANCTIONS • Page A7 ROBERT COHEN • rcohen@post-dispatch.com
The Chick-fil-A “cow” team pulls an airplane on a runway at St. Louis Lambert International Airport during a benefit for Special Olympics Missouri on Sunday. Teams vied for bragging rights for the fastest 12-foot drag of a FedEx Airbus A300 cargo plane weighing at least 250,000 pounds. BY JANELLE O’DEA St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The windy, 40-degree weather on Sunday wasn’t ideal, and neither was pulling a FedEx cargo plane estimated to weigh more than 250,000 pounds, but more than 30 teams used collective brawn to do it in the name of Special Olympics Missouri. The first STL Day on the Runway
Suicide at John Cochran VA center brings attention to health needs of vets
took place at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, where more than 800 people ran a 5K and attended a family festival with a climbing wall, food trucks, face painting and a DJ. Special Olympics Missouri used to do a similar event with a plane pull competition at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, and the organization wanted to bring it back for a family-friendly fundraiser.
Proceeds from the event went to support more than 15,000 Missouri athletes participating in Special Olympics events, said Jennifer Krumm, development coordinator in the Special Olympics Missouri St. Louis office. Krumm said Sunday’s event raised $115,000.
Alternative schools are challenged in lawsuit
See JET • Page A4
BARBARA BUSH IN FAILING HEALTH Former first lady Barbara Bush, shown in 2015 with her husband, former President George Bush, is in “failing health” and won’t seek additional medical treatment, a family spokesman said Sunday. STORY • A12
The suicide of a veteran at John Cochran VA Medical Center in St. Louis last month is the latest in a string of such deaths on Veterans Affairs properties nationwide. Phillip Crews, 62, shot himself in the hospital’s emergency room waiting area just after 4 a.m. on March 26, city and VA officials said. An estimated 20 to 22 veterans die of suicide each day, at an average age of 60. While it is unknown how many of those deaths occur at VA facilities, they include a 76-yearold who shot himself in a parking lot of a New York hospital in August 2016, a veteran of Afghanistan who hanged himself at age 32 in a Tennessee hospital in November 2016, a 63-year-old Navy veteran who shot himself in a car at a North Carolina hospital and a 35-year-old Marine who overdosed on
TODAY
Heave-ho
47°/34° MOSTLY CLOUDY
TOMORROW
65°/53° PARTLY CLOUDY
WEATHER B10 POST-DISPATCH WEATHERBIRD ®
One student’s lost year could force new look at system of discipline BY KRISTEN TAKETA St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Here’s how a St. Louis student completed his freshman year without earning a single high school credit. L.W. was 14 and less than a month into his first year at Roosevelt High School in 2014 when he was suspended for 10 days after allegedly getting into a cafeteria fight. District officials considered expelling him. Instead, they put him in virtual school, one of the district’s alternative education programs, where he was to work on online courses for three hours a day in a computer lab at Roosevelt. On his second day of virtual school, L.W. allegedly stole books of Metro bus tickets from an instructor. So
BY BLYTHE BERNHARD St. Louis Post-Dispatch
See SUICIDE • Page A5
• In first interview since firing, Comey calls Trump ‘morally unfit to be president.’ Story, A6
DAVID J. PHILLIP • Associated Press
Cardinals sweep Reds
Bike-share companies start service
Harrison Bader homers in 3-2 victory
From high school coach to the NBA • B1
SPORTS • B1
Blues hope Dunn can do it again
Wildwood meetings must relocate
See STUDENT • Page A5
• A3
• A2
1 M • B1
Vol. 140, No. 106 ©2018
FROM A1
A4 • ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
LAW & ORDER ST. LOUIS > Fatal shooting in Bevo Mill neighborhood • A man was fatally shot in the Bevo Mill neighborhood early Sunday, police said. The man was shot in the 5400 block of Gravois Avenue, near Eichelberger Street, about 1:25 a.m. Police said he was shot in the abdomen and pronounced dead. Homicide detectives are investigating the killing. Police didn’t release more details about the shooting Sunday. NILES, ILL. > Man posed as cop to assault woman, charges say • A suburban Chicago man is in jail on charges that he kidnapped a woman and attempted to sexually assault her while he posed as a police officer. The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reported the incident happened April 3. Prosecutors say the woman told authorities she became faint while inside a grocery in Niles and took a candy bar without paying for it. They say Janusz Kordek, 27, of Wheeling was working as a stock boy in the store. He approached the woman in the parking lot, identified himself as a police officer, showed her a badge and told her he was taking her into custody for shoplifting. Kordek allegedly placed her into his car and tried to sexually assault her, authorities said. He was ordered held in jail without bail on Friday.
M 1 • MONDAY • 04.16.2018
Consultants were hired to market region after unrest CONTRACT • FROM A1
particulars behind it,” board member Ed James said. Board member Greg Hayden said he wasn’t aware of the discrepancy between the resolution approved by the board and the contract signed by Sweeney until the Post-Dispatch first reported it in February. He said it hasn’t come up in discussion on the board since then but deferred further comment to Sweeney and the Partnership, which staffs the Port Authority. While $130,000 isn’t large in the context of an economic development agency that gets about $6 million a year, mostly from rent from the River City Casino in Lemay, documents show the leader of the region’s economic development agency not only signed a contract above what her board had authorized, the amount also exceeded what Cardinal Creative had actually bid. The 2016 marketing contract with Cardinal Creative Consulting is also one of several deals between the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership and the firm’s owner, local businessman John G. Rallo. Rallo, who has donated at least $20,000 to the election campaign of St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger, was also part of a group that received a nearly $500,000 loan from a Partnership-staffed entity to reduce the principal on a building the group had bought in Creve Coeur. Rallo was also a member of a business that in mid-2017 bought two Wellston industrial parks from the Partnershipstaffed County Land Clearance
for Redevelopment Authority. The LCRA had owned them for years and the county spent tens of millions of dollars cleaning them up in preparation for development. Development plans for the sites aren’t yet clear under the new owners. Rallo, who is also president of one of the state’s medical marijuana legalization ballot initiatives, Missourians for Patient Care, did not return a call for comment. Unlike many port authorities, the county Port Authority does little river infrastructure work. But it has wide discretion to divvy up millions in annual casino revenue. And it has now drawn the attention of St. Louis County Council Chairman Sam Page. “I’ve certainly read the reports and concerns about some of their decisions,” Page said in an interview. “I don’t know that there have been a lot of questions about Port Authority decisions except for the past two or three years, and the only thing that has really changed is the staff for the Port Authority, and I’m concerned the board may be getting some bad advice.” Page showed up for the first time to a Port Authority board meeting Tuesday, citing a provision in the county charter that gives him ex officio status. He wouldn’t be allowed to vote, according to the county ordinance. Page told the board he’s “gotten media inquiries” about participation on the board. The Post-Dispatch had asked his office several weeks ago whether it was aware of the provision allowing the council chair to participate in board discussions.
McHugh indicated to Page on Tuesday that the board could use the help. Sweeney said she would go over the county ordinances with the Partnership’s lawyers but that she hadn’t known about the provision. Later, she said in a statement she was “happy he could be there” and acknowledged his ex officio status. Both Stenger and Page are Democrats, but Page is one of the leaders of a bloc on the council that has opposed Stenger on multiple issues. Stenger is not in charge of the Port Authority or the Partnership and has said he hasn’t had any involvement in the contracts they award. He does have the authority to appoint a majority of Partnership board members and all Port Authority members. Though current Port Authority members were appointed by his predecessors, they are all serving on expired terms, according to the county website. Much of the leadership at the Partnership, which often drives the Port Authority’s agenda, turned over in the months after Stenger took office in 2015. Sweeney, a longtime Port Authority chair, took over as CEO of the Partnership after longtime leader Denny Coleman retired. Other top leadership at the Partnership also changed.
FERGUSON FALLOUT The Cardinal Creative Consulting contract was supposed to be about marketing the region in the aftermath of Ferguson unrest. But all the Partnership could point to was an op-ed from Montel Williams on an NBC website that mentioned Ferguson in the seventh paragraph and
misspelled Stenger’s name. Partnership spokeswoman Katy Jamboretz also said Williams spoke with Fox News anchor and commentator Neil Cavuto to get him to “tone down” the way he talked about the region. The Port Authority in May 2016 passed a resolution approving a contract for up to $100,000 with Rallo’s firm. That was the amount Cardinal Creative bid and it was selected over other bidders with local public relations experience that had offered to do the work for less. But when Sweeney signed the contract July 1, 2016, it was for $130,000 and clearly spelled out three payments of $43,333 into December 2016. It was only on Dec. 13, 2016, after the final payment, that Sweeney told the Port Authority board that another $30,000 in marketing services had been needed from Cardinal Creative. “The original contract was approved unanimously by the Port Authority Board,” Sweeney said in a statement. “The amendment to the contract was reported to the board, in accordance with our procedures.” A June 29, 2016, Partnership purchase order that Sweeney signed, obtained under a public records request, also references $100,000 for Cardinal Creative’s services. It’s unclear what procedures allowed the Partnership to increase the contract amount 30 percent above what the board had authorized. Jacob Barker • 314-340-8291 @jacobbarker on Twitter jbarker@post-dispatch.com
PHOTOS BY ROBERT COHEN • rcohen@post-dispatch.com
Riley Mudd (from left), Liam Bitting and Samuel Mudd pull a tow truck in the children’s area of a runway at St. Louis Lambert International Airport while adults pulled an airplane to benefit Special Olympics Missouri on Sunday. Teams competed to be the fastest to drag a FedEx Airbus A300 cargo plane weighing more than 250,000 pounds a distance of 12 feet.
Teams helped to raise funds for Special Olympics Missouri JET • FROM A1
“And that was in the morning, so hopefully it’s more by the end,” she said. “But it’s more than what we started with, so that’s incredible.” Teams participating in the plane pull could have up to 25 members. The winning team, Murley’s Mammoths, had the maximum amount of people allowed on their team, and completed the 12-foot pull in 7.87 seconds. Murley’s Mammoths was made up of mostly St. Louis County Police Department employees, including Dana Murley, an intelligence analyst with the department. The team was inspired by the team’s captain and Dana Murley’s son, Jeff Murley, 26, who has Down syndrome. For 10 years, he’s been a participant in several Special Olympics Missouri events including swimming, softball, bowling and basketball. Dana Murley knew some guys on the St. Louis County Police Department force who were right for the job. “I decided to name us ‘mammoths’ because they’re all physically big and strong and their hearts are the same size,” she said. The Webster Groves Police Department team took second place with a pull time of 8.17 seconds, and strength training group the Brentwood Barbells placed third with 8.42 seconds. The first-place team raised more than $2,000 for the event, Dana Murley said. The threshold for entry per team was a $1,500 donation if teams registered after March 1. Through Feb. 28, teams could register with a $1,250 donation. Fees for the 5K ranged from $35 to $45, depending on how far in advance participants registered. Access to the family festival portion of the event was free to the public. Officer Lori Wozniak participated in the plane pull with a team of 15 from the St. Louis Police Department. She also helped set up the day before, and when she was looking at the FedEx plane, she could only think one thing. “I said, ‘This is going to be freaking hard!’” Wozniak, a First District officer, said. Her team still managed to pull it off in 9 seconds. For William Wessels, president and owner of Bridgeton-based competitive weightlifting company United States Strongman, the beginning is the hardest part. “The start is the key, and then you just gotta move your feet,” Wessels said. U.S. Strongman had a team of 25 people participate in the plane pull, and though the competitive group didn’t place, Wessels said this event wasn’t about competition. “We just had fun,” he said. “It’s all about giving back.”
Hazelwood police Officer Doug Krafft joins members of the Maryland Heights, Bridgeton and Hazelwood police departments as they compete in an airplane pull during a benefit for Special Olympics Missouri on Sunday. Businesses, police departments and fitness groups were among those participating in the event and raising money for Special Olympics Missouri. Lylian Swofford keeps warm with her family in 40-degree temperatures on a runway at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Sunday. In addition to the airplane pull, a family festival, 5K run and other events were taking place.
S E RV I N G T H E P U B L I C S I N C E 1 878 • W I N N E R O F 1 8 P U L I TZ E R P R I Z E S
Sunday • 12.30.2018 • $4.00 • FINAL EDITION
Ex-staffers: Partnership CEO is in Stenger’s pocket
STOLEN FUTURE
THE HEARTBREAK OF A LONG GOODBYE Families share stories of financial, personal toll wrought by dementia
Sweeney
Stenger
BY JACOB BARKER AND JEREMY KOHLER St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Shortly after the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership named Sheila Sweeney chief executive in late 2015, there was a new face in the Partnership’s offices. It was John Rallo, a businessman from a family with deep roots in local construction — and, it turned out, one of St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger’s early campaign donors. Joe Bannister, the Partnership’s former vice president for real estate, remembers Sweeney pulling him aside to let him know why Rallo was there. “John was a friend of the campaign, so you know, he’s going to do work,” he said Sweeney told him. Rallo would later win a $130,000 marketing contract from the St. Louis County Port Authority, purchase 43 acres of land from a county See PARTNERSHIP • Page A8
INSIDE: Official alleges Stenger influenced land sale in Wellston that went to donor. Story, A9
CRISTINA M. FLETES • cfletes@post-dispatch.com
Ron Nicoletti, 68, begins to doze off as his wife, Mary, says goodbye after visiting him at a skilled nursing facility in Valley Park this month. Ron was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s eight years ago and is now unable to say more than a few words. “It’s hard to realize how devastating this is unless you have been through it,” says Mary.
Slaying of 4 shocks St. Charles subdivision
BY MICHELE MUNZ • St. Louis Post-Dispatch
M
ary Nicoletti, 66, walks through the locked double doors of one of the dementia wings at the skilled nursing facility where her husband lives. She spots him standing at the end of the long hallway, just a thin silhouette against a wide, sunny window. “Hey, Ronnie! Hi!” she yells. Ron Nicoletti, 68, stares but doesn’t move. “Do you see me yet?” Mary says. She waves excitedly, walking closer. Ron finally responds to her, as if she were just getting off an airplane after years away. They’ve been married 45 years, but he no longer knows her name. “Ahhhhhh,” he bellows, coming toward her. She opens her arms for a hug, and he walks into her embrace. “I love you!” she tells him. “Love you!” he blurts.
BY CELESTE BOTT AND JACOB BARKER St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. CHARLES • Police received a chilling 911 call late Friday night. I n a s u b d iv i s i o n o f f Muegge Road with wellmaintained lawns and twocar garages, there was a man with a gun in a house on the 100 block of Whetstone Drive. On the line, with gunshots audible in the background, was Jane M. Moeckel, 61, who had barricaded herself in a downstairs room with her two grandchildren, Zoe J. Kasten, 8, and Jonathan D. Kasten, 10. By the time police arrived
See DEMENTIA • Page A14 CHRISTIAN GOODEN • cgooden@post-dispatch.com
Barbara Lewis rests a moment in her University City home this month. Lewis, 88, learned two years ago that she has dementia. She has an appointment with a neurologist next month for testing to determine the cause.
> This is the sixth part in a series about dementia. Read previous stories. stltoday.com/dementia
SIGNS OF DECLINE Dementia does not discriminate, as these six patients illustrate. INSIDE • A16-17
See MURDER • Page A5
TODAY
A SENSE OF PLACE
YEAR IN REVIEW
See the winners of our travel photo contest. B1
Boom and bust: The year’s top business stories • C1
47°/37°
Shildt leads list of year’s top St. Louis sports stories • D1
She makes things happen
PARTLY SUNNY
TOMORROW
45°/30° RAIN
WEATHER D11 POST-DISPATCH WEATHERBIRD ®
Parkland school shooting is AP’s story of year • A11
CITIZEN OF THE YEAR
Natural disasters this year cost $155 billion • A23
Kathy Osborn finds solutions for the region
Obituaries: Remembering those we lost in ’18 • A31
BUSINESS • C1
Vol. 140, No. 364 ©2018
2018 Volvo
XC60 T6 AWd R-dESigN
2018 Volvo S A L E S
Up to
8,596
$
Off
MSRP 60,540
636-227-8303
14410 MANCHESTER ROAD MANCHESTER, MO 63011
Off
MSRP 55,720
$
Sale Price $51,393
XC90 T5 AWd mOmENTUm
E V E N T
Up to
9,147
$
VOLVO CARS WEST COUNTY
2 M
$
STK# 18994
Sale Price $47,124
* New 2018 Volvo XC60 stk#18994 & New 2018 Volvo XC90 stk#19276 excludes tax, title, license & dealer administration fee. See dealer for complete details. Image for illustration only while inventory lasts. Expires 01/02/2019. ALL TRADE-IN ACCEPTED
STK# 19276
FROM A1
A8 • ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
M 2 • SUNDAY • 12.30.2018
Official alleges Stenger influenced land sale in Wellston that went to his donor BY JACOB BARKER St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger has repeatedly denied any involvement in the 2017 sale of two publicly owned Wellston industrial parks to investors who also have donated around $40,000 to his campaign. But the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership official who oversaw the sale says otherwise. “To be clear, to be very clear, on the project itself, the bidding process, all of that was started by John Rallo and the relationship with Steve (Stenger),” Joe Bannister, the Partnership’s former vice president of real estate, told the Post-Dispatch. Rallo was the lead investor in the group that also includes Corey Christanell and Doug LaClair. They purchased the two sites — 43 acres owned by the St. Louis County Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority — for a little more than $525,000. The Post-Dispatch first reported on the sale in August
ST. LOUIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP
This aerial view shows the industrial parks in Wellston that the St. Louis County Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority sold after decades of ownership.
2017. The Partnership had not announced the sale or widely publicized its request for proposals beyond a required legal notice. “Typically you go to 10 or 15 developers, proven developers and say, we have this (RFP) com-
ing out, would you please look at it,” Bannister said. “I was told not to do that. I was directed not to drum up market activity.” One of the 28-acre sites the group had purchased for $275,000 was back in the news last month, with the Rallo
group seeking permission from the LCRA to sell it to a used car auction company, CoPart. The $7 million in investment and 25 jobs from the sale would be well below the $50 million investment and 300 jobs promised when they purchased the site from the county. The investors needed the LCRA board to approve the CoPart sale because the investment was so different from their initial development proposal. For months, the investors sought an LCRA meeting. They identified CoPart as a “perfect fit” back in October 2017. Yet Bannister said Partnership CEO Sheila Sweeney “made it abundantly clear that no one was taking any action on anything until after the (August Democratic primary) election.” Stenger squeaked out a victory in the primary, allowing him to cruise to victory in the November general election. “I was with Sheila several times when John Rallo or Corey (Christanell) would call and say we need to get this wrapped up, will you please call the meet-
ing?” Bannister said. “And Sheila would continually say, Steve (Stenger) has told me to not call the meeting. I’m not going to call the meeting. And then literally after the election, everything was held, as you saw, until just now.” The LCRA board turned down the request this month. Bannister said when he was at the Partnership, he researched CoPart and found it had paid $1.5 million in 2010 for a smaller site in Bridgeton. Stenger’s spokesman said he wouldn’t comment on statements “from disgruntled former employees.” The Partnership has said it is “very concerned” about the Post-Dispatch’s findings. Rallo, who has reportedly moved to Salt Lake City, did not reply to a text message. “We continue to work with the Partnership and the LCRA board on the two sites, and it’s inappropriate for us to comment at this time,” Christanell said. Jacob Barker • 314-340-8291 @jacobbarker on Twitter jbarker@post-dispatch.com
Sweeney’s run as CEO nears end, multiple sources say PARTNERSHIP • FROM A1
development arm and procure a $489,000 commercial building loan from a Partnership office. Neither Rallo nor Sweeney responded to requests for comment about Bannister’s account. The apparent favorable treatment Rallo received was an early indication of how Sweeney would run the roughly $19 million a year city-county economic development agency. Now, Sweeney’s run is said to be near an end, according to multiple sources. The Partnership Board recently held a closed meeting to discuss personnel matters and plans to hold another in several days. The St. Louis County Council is expected to ramp up its ongoing ethics investigation of the Partnership. Sweeney’s board released a statement saying it was “deeply concerned” about issues at the Partnership, and it sent a message to the county council saying it would take action “to ensure the long-term viability” of the organization. Though Sweeney and board members declined to comment on her status, interviews with 12 former Partnership employees, most who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of harming their job prospects in St. Louis business circles, describe an office beset by low morale, high turnover, little communication, sparse job training and questionable hiring practices. Former top-level employees say influence from Stenger’s office in decision-making was apparent, despite Stenger’s repeated claims that he holds little influence over the Partnership. Sweeney’s hiring in 2015 to replace longtime Partnership CEO Denny Coleman raised eyebrows from the start. The Partnership board had paid a firm to conduct a national search to replace the retiring Coleman, who at one time had been chairman of the International Economic Development Council, the premier trade group for economic development professionals. Sweeney, who received $500,000 in total compensation in the year ended Sept. 30, 2017, hadn’t managed a large organization. She owned a real estate company and had served as the longtime chairwoman of the county port authority, a Partnership-managed entity. For several years, the port authority had to spend most of its income, about $5 million in rent from the River City Casino, in the Lemay area — Stenger’s old district when he was a county councilman. The Post-Dispatch has already reported on the Rallo deals and Sweeney’s apparent attempt to mislead the public about a proposed St. Louis Blues practice complex in a county park. The newspaper also found that a nonprofit reliant on port authority funding had hired Steven Wyatt Earp, the husband of a former Stenger staffer, despite his conviction for stealing from a campaign fund. Text messages shared by Bannister, who was fired this year, show frequent involvement in the Partnership from Stenger’s top aides. Two of them, chief of policy Jeff Wagener and chief of staff Bill Miller, sit on the Partnership board.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ST. LOUIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP
A crowdfunding platform created by the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership toasts in April its launch and one of its first customers, Wellbeing Brewing Co. From left are Jamey Edgerton, head of the Partnership’s business development unit and CEO of Nvsted; Wellbeing Brewing founders Genevieve Barlow and Jeff Stevens; Partnership CEO Sheila Sweeney; and St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger.
WHAT IS THE ST. LOUIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP? The St. Louis Economic Development Partnership is billed as a regional economic development organization, with 11 board members appointed by the St. Louis County executive and four members appointed by the St. Louis mayor. It was formed in 2013 and combined some business attraction and retention functions of the St. Louis County Economic Council and the St. Louis Development Corp. in an effort to present a united regional entity to business site selectors. Intended to be agnostic about business growth or attraction in the city and county, it remained in Clayton and continued to manage county development arms, including: • The St. Louis County Port Authority, which collects about $5 million annually in rent from the River City Casino. • The St. Louis County Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority. • The St. Louis County Industrial Development Authority. • The STL Partnership Certified Development Co., which administers small business loans. The city’s SLDC manages the equivalent offices in the city. The Partnership also manages the St. Louis World Trade Center, immigration assistance program the Mosaic Project and the St. Louis Promise Zone, a federal designation made under the Obama administration meant to give north St. Louis and north St. Louis County a leg up on federal grants.
“The direction that Sheila (Sweeney) would point us in, which was a combination of things from Jeff (Wagener) and Steve (Stenger), was just not very productive,” said Bannister, who worked closely with Sweeney until she fired him. “Almost every decision is run by the Ninth Floor.” The Ninth Floor is Clayton parlance for the county executive’s office, which can appoint 11 of 15 seats on the Partnership board. The other four are appointed by the St. Louis mayor. Though Stenger, a Democrat who was just re-elected, has said he is not involved in the Partnership’s day-to-day operations, a former employee, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that “couldn’t be further from the truth.” It’s normal for an economic development office to receive general guidance from the elected official above it, the former employee said. But Coleman, who led the Partnership and its predecessor for 25 years before retiring in August 2015 in Stenger’s first year in office, was “willing to push back” when elected officials went too far. That changed when Sweeney
took over, said the person, who worked for both CEOs. “The perception was there wasn’t a single substantive decision that wasn’t made by the county executive’s office,” the person said.
TEXTS TO STENGER In one documented instance, port authority meeting minutes indicate Stenger held up funding for Arch Grants, a startup support organization, in March 2015. A month later, after meeting with former Arch Grants Director Ginger Imster, “County Executive Stenger approved the additional funding” for Arch Grants, according to minutes. Imster is now a vice president at the Partnership. Meeting minutes after 2015 do not seem to indicate involvement from Stenger in Partnership or port business, but Bannister and another employee who was hired during Sweeney’s tenure said that during meetings with her staff, Sweeney frequently texted Stenger or his aides to get approval on Partnership business. “When you are texting on your phone and you say, ‘Well, Steve (Stenger) thinks we should do
this, or Steve thinks we should do that,’ that should tell you who she’s texting with,” the former employee said. In one meeting, Sweeney told staff that “we have to protect Steve because without Steve, we don’t have our jobs,” the person added. Coleman, who has recently reemerged from retirement to lead the County Council’s competing version of the port authority, said the county executive didn’t inject himself into the day-to-day operations of the Partnership in the six months he stayed on. “Certainly not what I hear is the situation afterwards,” he said. Stenger spokesman Cordell Whitlock said that it was “wholly appropriate” for the county executive to communicate regularly with an agency that receives $4 million annually from county taxpayers. “Ultimately, though, Sheila Sweeney reports to the Partnership board, which has the final say on all of the agency’s key actions,” Whitlock said in a Dec. 21 statement responding to the Post-Dispatch’s findings. “The fact of the matter is that changes in leadership and culture of an organization are bound to make some people unhappy and lead to personnel changes. We are not going to comment on statements from disgruntled former employees.” One of those former employees, Rick Palank, worked in finance at the Partnership and its predecessor, the St. Louis County Economic Council, for over 30 years. Palank recalls being told to stop advertising his office’s small business lending products in the St. Louis Business Journal after a story was published that Stenger didn’t like. The Partnership has since resumed buying tens of thousands of dollars worth of ads and services from the weekly paper. In December 2016, Palank said he was told to leave his position leading the Partnership’s smallbusiness lending arm. “I didn’t care for management, what was going on,” said Palank, who leads Regional Growth Capital. “I didn’t like the way Stenger was basically running the Partnership.” Asked about Sweeney, he
replied: “Write this down: ‘puppet.’”
A NEW CHIEF After Coleman retired, Sweeney was hired as the interim CEO during the search, but she told the Post-Dispatch that she was not in the running for the permanent job. The Partnership had hired Chicago-based DHR International for $56,000 to conduct a national search. Yet in early October, Sweeney was tapped as permanent CEO. Two people familiar with the search process say only one candidate — Sweeney — was presented to the full board. Coleman said he was asked not to be involved in the process to select his successor. But he knew people were interested in the job. “My expectation and, in fact, some of the feedback I was getting and inquiries from different parts of the country about that job opening up, I would have anticipated that there could be very strong candidates who had significant experience in the day-to-day management of high-performing economic development organizations,” he said. Soon, other top leadership followed Coleman out the door. The churn was constant. One former staff member said that in the Partnership’s online directory of 63 people, only 22 people were there four years ago. Even before he retired, Coleman said he had to push back against hiring some people he didn’t think were qualified. He declined to name them because he didn’t want to “embarrass” anyone. “There were some people that Mr. Stenger through his office wanted me to hire,” Coleman said. “There were a couple of them I just said no, especially not at that salary. There was a couple I did hire. I mean, every county executive has a couple of folks who they refer and they probably didn’t come through normal channels but as long as they are not in really high-level positions they are not going to hurt, and maybe they’ll work out. But there were some that were not appropriate.” See PARTNERSHIP • Page A9
FROM A1
12.30.2018 • SUNDAY • M 2
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH • A9
Sites are supposed to be promoted equally PARTNERSHIP • FROM A8
And despite its billing as a regional organization, ex-employees say St. Louis County was the Partnership’s focus under Sweeney. “The emphasis was 100 percent on county relations and Stenger relations,� one former employee said. The successor to the former St. Louis County Economic Council, the Partnership still manages county development arms like the port authority and industrial development authority, just as the St. Louis Development Corp. manages those offices in the city. But for companies looking to relocate or expand in the region, the Partnership was supposed to be agnostic about promoting sites in the city or county. Sweeney, however, “made it abundantly clear she would support the county over the city,� said one person familiar with management’s thinking. “The intention was to change the opinion of the site selectors or the consultants working for those companies, change the opinion that the county was a better place to put their business in than the city,� the person said. SLDC Director Otis Williams “doesn’t know that she’s working against him.� Williams, who is a city appointee on the Partnership board, declined to comment.
PRIVATE BATHROOM When the terms of a cheap sublease for two floors of a Clayton high-rise lapsed, the Partnership kept the 22nd floor of 7733 Forsyth Boulevard at almost twice the price it had been paying. The Partnership had a $75,000 tenant improvement allowance under the new lease. Yet it overspent its allowance by about $50,000. A large chunk of that spending? A private bathroom for Sweeney down the hall from her office and accessible only via a keypad lock, according to Bannister and documents he provided. There were management mishaps, too. In one, the Partnership discovered that employees had been paying premiums for a life insurance policy without coverage. Partnership spokeswoman Katy Jamboretz said the issue is almost resolved and employees are receiving refunds now. In another incident, Vicki Jackson, a former site administrator for
the Helix Center, was fired in December 2017 by a human resources employee for missing too much work after undergoing treatment for cancer. “I was in St. Luke’s Hospital in a hospital room in my hospital gown,� Jackson said. “It’s not like I hadn’t called them and told them I had been transported to the hospital.� Jackson, who worked at the Partnership for five years, filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Partnership paid $30,000 to settle her complaint without admitting any fault or liability. In a statement responding to the Post-Dispatch’s findings provided by Jamboretz, Partnership board chair Karlos Ramirez said the board is “deeply concerned about these issues.� “We are taking these allegations very seriously, and are looking into each one,� the statement said. “It is important to base decisions on facts. If there are management or operational issues, we will take swift action.�
‘PRETTY SHAKEN UP’ Bannister considered himself close to Sweeney before she fired him. He would pick her up for work and drive her to and from Partnership functions. Hired at the Partnership in 2015, Bannister was the former chair of startup support organization the Missouri Technology Corp. under Gov. Jay Nixon and has spent his career in politics and real estate. After he was fired in late July, he worried the blame for some of the questionable Partnership deals would be pinned on him. Though he’s not positive why he was fired — the Partnership says it does not comment on personnel matters — he does point to one big incident over the summer that he says seemed to change his relationship with Sweeney. It started when Sweeney told him someone banged on the front door of her Ladue home early on June 25. Bannister provided text messages showing that, the next morning, Sweeney wrote “they were back this morning ‌ I think they are in two black vehicles. One an SUV and one a car.â€? Bannister said in an interview that he noticed the cars when he picked up Sweeney at home for a morning meeting in Clayton. They followed
them into the county seat, he said. The episode left Sweeney shaken, and had Stenger officials scrambling to find out who had been following them, according to Bannister’s texts and interviews. A text from Wagener, the Stenger aide, asked for the license plate. Bannister said he gave the plate to Tom Malecek, an official in Stenger’s administration who had worked for the St. Louis Police Department. When Bannister and Sweeney left a meeting that day, Malecek “walked up to us and said, ‘Here’s who was following you,’ and handed us a piece of paper and said they had made a traffic stop. And the whole thing just didn’t make any sense.â€? Bannister said he was told Clayton police officers pulled over the car, and the plates came back to a telephone consulting company, JM Surveys, registered to a mailbox in Maryland Heights. Clayton police said they had no record of a traffic stop matching Bannister’s description that day. Bannister said Wagener asked him to meet Stenger, Malecek and Miller, the chief of staff, later at a restaurant in Clayton. “And they asked me, ‘Is Sheila OK?’ ... I said she’s pretty shaken up, she wants to know who this was and she wants more information.â€? “And Steve walked away. And ‌ Malecek said, ‘Do you know who it was?’ And I said no, I don’t know who this company is. I have no clue who it is. They said, ‘Well, we’ll continue to figure out who it is, we’ll work through that. You just have to tell us how Sheila’s doing. Just call us every day, call us every morning, text us, let us know how she’s doing.’â€? About four weeks later, council members Ernie Trakas and Sam Page said in comments during a council meeting that each had been told by sources that Sweeney had enlisted county police officers to check out a vehicle tailing her. “When St. Louis County police stopped the subject vehicle, they were advised that the occupants were, in fact, federal agents,â€? Trakas said. Page said he had heard the same thing. Neither would reveal their sources. Trakas said his source was “impeccable.â€? This month, Trakas was sticking to his story and still would not reveal his source. Jacob Barker • 314-340-8291 @jacobbarker on Twitter jbarker@post-dispatch.com
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN THE ST. LOUIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP January 2015 • St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger sworn in after defeating Charlie Dooley in the Democratic primary and Republican Rick Stream in the general election. February 2015 • Longtime St. Louis County Economic Council CEO Denny Coleman, who managed the office’s 2013 transformation into the regional St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, announces he will retire. July 2015 • St. Louis County Port Authority Chair Sheila Sweeney named interim CEO of the Economic Development Partnership, though she tells the Post-Dispatch she is not in the running for the permanent job. October 2015 • After the Partnership paid $56,000 to national search firm to find a new chief, Sweeney named permanent CEO. Two sources say she was the only candidate presented to the full board. July 2016 • Businessman and Stenger campaign donor John Rallo, who ran an insurance business, wins $100,000 marketing contract to promote the region after Ferguson unrest, claiming Montel Williams will assist. Sweeney signed contract for $130,000 despite board’s resolution, and Williams’ agent later claims the celebrity was only paid $10,000. September 2016 • Lemay Housing Partnership, which relies on county port authority funding, hires Steven Wyatt Earp at the recommendation of Stenger. Earp had been convicted of stealing from a St. Louis Community College campaign fund in 2006 and was the husband of Stenger’s former legislative aide. Early to mid-2017 • Rallo and business partners obtain a $489,000 loan from a special Partnership program for a commercial building acquisition in Creve Coeur and purchase two industrial parks owned by the Partnership-operated St. Louis County Land Clearance for Redevelopment Authority. July 2017 • Sweeney tells Post-Dispatch that work in Creve Coeur Lake Park is for a stormwater management project unrelated to a proposed practice facility for the St. Louis Blues. Documents later show that to be false. June 26, 2018 • Sweeney and Partnership Vice President of Real Estate Joe Bannister followed by unmarked cars. Stenger’s aide seeks license plate number of the cars. July 24, 2018 • St. Louis County Council members allege in open meeting that police who stopped cars following Sweeney had been federal agents. Bannister fired July 26. August 2018 • Stenger narrowly wins re-election in the Democratic Party primary and cruises to a win in the November general election. December 2018 • Partnership board schedules closed meetings to discuss personnel matters. Sources indicate Sweeney may be leaving post.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
For A Lim
ited
rATeSTime GUAr AN FOr 1TeeD MONT 2 HS!
 �  �  �   �
HOMETOWN Money Market With Direct Deposit* Deposit Balance APY*
$250,000 and Above $200,000 - $249,999
Â? Â
$100,000 - $199,999
 Â
$ 75,000 - $ 99,999
$ 55,000 - $ 74,999
Under $55,000
    € ‚ � �
YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN 2019   Â? Â?  ƒ Â? Â
HOMETOWN Money Market Without Direct Deposit Deposit Balance APY*
$250,000 and Above $200,000 - $249,999 $100,000 - $199,999 $ 75,000 - $ 99,999
� „ … †
$ 55,000 - $ 74,999
„ �
Under $55,000
‡  ‡  …   �  �  �  … � ˆ  �
Â? Â?    ‰   Â? Â?  Â? Â
Â
Š ƒ ‹  Œ   Â
� �Ž Š ‘ �  � � � ��� � ‰ �  � ‘ �
Â
 €‚
2.60% 2.55% 2.50% 2.45% 2.40% 0.00% 2.45% 2.40% 2.35% 2.30% 2.30% 0.00%
$100 Bonus With e-Statements** You must maintain a minimum balance of $55,000.00 to obtain the disclosed annual percentage yield (APY). Rates effective as of date of publication. Interest is compounded and credited monthly. If the account is closed before interest is credited, you will not receive the accrued interest. The interest rate and APY stated above will be in effect for a twelve month period, commencing on the date the account is established. Thereafter, at FCB’s sole discretion, the interest rate and APY may change at any time. These rates are being offered and guaranteed for a limited time. FCB reserves the right to extend, modify or discontinue offering these rates and/or account at any time. Limitations: You must deposit $55,000.00 to open this account. Six (6) withdrawals are allowed per statement cycle, all of which may be by check, debit card, or payments to third parties. Excess withdrawals are $10 each. Available to personal and guarantor trust accounts only. Account Fees: This account will not earn interest if the daily collected balance falls below $55,000.00. Fees and charges may reduce earnings. If the account is closed within 12 months, there is a $59 closing fee. *A qualifying direct deposit is a recurring electronic direct deposit of at least $500 or more per month. This direct deposit can be a paycheck, pension, Social Security or other regular monthly income by an employer or an outside agency. It does not include bank to bank transfers or credit card cash advance transfers. The qualifying direct deposit must be credited to any FCB Checking account. If the qualifying direct deposit is discontinued, the interest rate on this MMK account will revert back to the interest rate for the MMK account without direct deposit. If this account is opened without a qualifying direct deposit, customer must notify the bank in writing when the qualifying direct deposit begins to be credited to their FCB checking account in order to receive the bonus interest rate. **Bonus will be paid within 90 days of signing up for e-statements. Bonus will be reported as interest. Limit one bonus payment offer per customer in the last 24 months. If multiple accounts are opened with the same owners, only one account will be eligible for the bonus.
Missouri Locations South County • 12000 Tesson Ferry Rd. • 314-842-9091 Now Open in Florissant at 14040 New Halls Ferry Rd. • 314-733-9096
iLLinois Locations
Collinsville 618-346-9000 Collinsville Hwy 157 618-343-9096 Caseyville 618-345-9096 Maryville 618-346-9090 Troy 618-667-9090
Highland 618-651-9090 Edwardsville 618-656-9090 Swansea 618-239-9000 O’Fallon 618-622-9090
fcbbanks.com
Belleville 618-235-9090 New Baden 618-588-3511 Albers 618-248-5176 Trenton 618-224-9090