ST. LOUIS (KMOX) -- St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones addressed the recent indictments of three city aldermen in a press conference Wednesday.
"If proven to be true, the self-dealing and corruption outlined in these indictments is completely unacceptable," Jones said. "Illustrating how little these three indivduals thought of their colleagues, of the people they were elected to serve, and of our entire city."
Jones said that while she believes people are innocent until proven guilty, the indictments prevented the three aldermen from doing the job they were elected to do.
"All three did the right thing by resigning," she said.
Jones described her personal conflicts with the indicted aldermen, saying that Board President Lewis Reed often refused to meet with her staff to discuss issues, Alderman Jeffrey Boyd fought her since the days where she was the treasurer in 2012, and that Alderman John Collins-Muhammad used derogatory language to describe how he felt about Jones.
But, she said, the issue goes beyond personal or political disagreements.
"No one wins in this situation. When politicians break the law to serve themselves instead of the people they were elected to serve, everyone loses," she said. "Including political opponents, and the families of those indicted."
As for the potential for more federal indictments, Jones said no one has any way of knowing if there are any more on the way. However, she said she does think there will be more to come.
"I think this is the tip of the iceberg," she said.
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