Local News
Prosecutors Pile Charges on Pervy Pill-Peddling Pediatrician Craig Spiegel

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The St. Louis pediatrician who last week was accused by federal prosecutors of swapping prescription pills for sex has now been indicted by a grand jury and is facing a slew of additional charges.
Craig Spiegel, 67, now faces 17 counts of illegal distribution of controlled substances and six counts of making false statements related to health care matters.
As the RFT previously reported, federal authorities claim that since 2014 Spiegel has been writing bogus prescriptions to women in exchange for sexual favors and nude photographs. The authorities allege that Spiegel first met many of these women when they were children and he was their pediatrician.
Prosecutors claim that Spiegel was aware that many of these women had dangerous addiction issues, yet he continued to prescribe opioids, Xanax and amphetamines to them. One woman for whom Spiegel prescribed medications died of an overdose in April 2022.
The six charges of making false statements stem from the women Spiegel issued the bogus prescriptions to having the costs of those drugs covered by Medicare and Medicaid.
April Bingham, 46, is also facing one charge of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances related to Spiegel’s alleged scheme. The indictment says that Spiegel traded drugs for sexual favors with Bingham and Bingham also distributed controlled substances under Spiegel’s DEA registration. Spiegel knew that Bingham was selling some of the pills he prescribed her to others and he used the names of Bingham’s ex-husband, mother, and friends, to conceal from pharmacies how frequently he was writing prescriptions for Bingham.
Bingham also connected the doctor to others with whom he could trade drugs for sexual favors, the indictment says.
At a detention hearing on Monday, prosecutor Amy Sestric argued that Spiegel ought to remain in custody as his case works its way through the courts. She said that an acquaintance of Spiegel’s came forward recently to say she had concerns about Spiegel being a potential flight risk. This acquaintance, also a doctor, said that Spiegel has previously talked about gaining Israeli citizenship and how difficult it is to be extradited back to the United States from Israel.
Spiegel’s attorney, William Goldstein, said that the doctor would be willing to surrender his passport as part of an arrangement allowing him to await his day in court out of jail. He stressed that Spiegel has significant family ties to the St. Louis area and that he has surrendered his license to practice medicine.
A judge has yet to rule one way or the other on Spiegel’s bond, and he remains in custody.
Sestric argued that the government has “overwhelming” evidence against Spiegel, including thousands of text messages.
At Spiegel’s hearing, Sestric referenced one of those text exchanges, initiated by Spiegel when he knew the feds were about to bring charges.
In that exchange, Spiegel texted someone to ask: “Are you talking to the feds?”
They responded, “No.”
To which Spiegel replied, “Good.”
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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

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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

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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

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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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