Cairo councilman charged with four felonies

CAIRO, Ill. -- Cairo's longest serving city councilman, Elbert "Bo" Purchase, was charged Tuesday with four felonies and a misdemeanor stemming from a confrontation last September with Mayor Paul Farris and five city employees.

Purchase was charged with two felony counts of threatening a public official, a felony count of intimidation, a felony count of official misconduct and a misdemeanor charge of aggravated assault.

The charges were announced by Farris at a news conference at city hall this morning. Farris said he and the city employees were cleaning up an area of town in preparation of a visit to the city by the Delta Queen on Sept. 5, 2006, when Purchase drove up and began using profanities and racial terms to harass and attack the workers.

At one point, Purchase was "as close to me as you can get without touching me," and was screaming, Farris said.

As of late this morning, no court date has been set for a hearing on the charges. Purchase was not immediately available for comment.

Check back at www.semissourian.com or read Thursday's Southeast Missourian for more details.