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Wash U Pediatrician Swapped Drugs for Sex for Years, Prosecutors Say

Published

2 years ago

March 8, 2024

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A Washington University pediatrician has allegedly been exchanging prescription drugs for sex and cash with patients for a decade — an illicit practice federal prosecutors say he continued even after one of the women he supplied narcotics to overdosed and died.

Prosecutors wrote in a complaint filed in federal court yesterday that Craig Spiegel has doled out “over 73,000 controlled substance pills” to at least 25 individuals, though the complaint states the number of people he’s illicitly provided pills to is probably higher. There was “no legitimate medical purpose” for the doctor to give these people drugs, which authorities say he distributed in a “tit-for-tat” nature, giving them to female patients in exchange for sexual favors and to other patients in exchange for money.

Spiegel allegedly supplied drugs to people he knew to be drug addicts or to people he knew were diverting the drugs to others, including children.

Spiegel is charged with illegal distribution of a controlled substance and is facing up to 20 years in prison, if found guilty.

Prosecutors say that Spiegel is a man “undeterred by any consequence to his actions.” Not only did he continue the drugs-for-sex scheme after a 40-year-old patient overdosed and died, he continued with the illegal behavior even after federal authorities served a search warrant at his clinic. He sat for an extensive interview with agents and “was expressly questioned about the dangerous conduct in which he was engaged,” then continued with the conduct apace.

According to court filings, one of Spiegel’s patients has accused him of forcing her to perform oral sex on him in a public bathroom. Another patient, a minor, has complained of Spiegel being “inappropriate” with her during a medical exam.

Federal prosecutors say they have abundant evidence against the doctor, including thousands of text messages sent between Spiegel and his patients. Those include Spiegel texting, “You owe me big time,” and instructing a woman to “[w]ear fewer layers” at an upcoming meeting. In another instance, he texted that he’d sent her prescriptions “assuming [she] would hold up [her] end.”

Spiegel met many of these women when they were children, and he was their pediatrician, according to the complaint against him.

Prosecutors have asked that Spiegel be kept behind bars as his case works its way through the court system, claiming he would be a danger to the community otherwise. The charges, they say, are “extraordinarily serious.”
click to enlarge SCREENSHOT As of yesterday, Dr. Craig Spiegel was still listed on Wash U’s website.

The authorities also argue that Spiegel may be a flight risk if not confined. He appears to be in the process of selling his $1.2 million home and has moved into one worth half as much. He has also recently booked flights to Detroit and Florida.

Spiegel is still listed on the Washington University School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics website. What appears to be a previous listing with SSMHealth now results in a 404 message. Spiegel’s LinkedIn page says he’s been the owner of his own medical practice since 1993.

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

1 year ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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