Mo. lawmaker pleads guilty to bribing bank official

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- State Rep. John Bowman, a Democrat from St. Louis, pleaded guilty Friday to his role in a bank and credit card fraud scheme.

He is the second state lawmaker in a month to appear in federal court here in a fraud case, and one of four charged with crimes in 2007.

Bowman, who was in the Capitol halls this week for the legislative session's opening, pleaded guilty to one count of bribing a bank official, a misdemeanor. He faces up to one year in prison and up to $100,000 in fines.

He also agreed to resign his legislative seat effective Jan. 31. Bowman, 51, was chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus but stepped down during the 2007 legislative session after the indictment. He also is a member of the powerful House Budget Committee.

Bowman's attorney, Scott Rosenblum, said the agreement does not preclude him from seeking office in the future. But prosecutors said Bowman could not run for office until after he serves prison, probation or supervised release.

Bowman, appearing before U.S. District Judge Henry Edward Autrey, said he wanted to "bring closure to this chapter in my life." He declined to speak to reporters.

Rosenblum said afterward that Bowman accepted responsibility "for his error in judgment." He said Bowman enjoyed public service, and that it was difficult for him to resign his office but he appreciated the government's agreement to lower the crime from a felony fraud count to a misdemeanor bribe.

His sentencing is scheduled for April 3.

Last month, former state Rep. Nathan Cooper, R-Cape Girardeau, was sentenced to 15 months in prison and fined $6,000 for an immigration fraud scheme that derailed his political and legal careers. He resigned his legislative seat late last year.

Sen. Jeff Smith, D-St. Louis, and Rep. Joe Aull, D-Marshall, were charged last year with misdemeanors of presenting a false identification at a Boonvile casino. Former Isle of Capri lobbyist Lynn Schlosser of Kansas City was also charged in that case.

Bowman and 16 others were indicted in January 2007 by a federal grand jury in St. Louis for submitting fraudulent applications for small business credit cards through Bank of America.

The ringleader, former Bank of America Vice President Robert Conner, recruited the credit card applicants, and received kickbacks in exchange for approving their credit. Late last year, Conner was convicted of 36 federal charges. He'll be sentenced Feb. 20.

The other defendants, along with five in related cases, also pleaded guilty.

Bowman met with Conner at a bank branch in Chesterfield in January 2006 and applied for credit under the name of Bowman Consulting, U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said.

Bowman was not credit worthy at the time, and misrepresented himself to get a credit card that otherwise would not have been approved, prosecutor Matthew Schelp said. Conner demanded payment from Bowman in exchange for approving his credit card application.

Bowman used the card to get more than $22,000 in cash advances, Schelp said.

More than $1.2 million in charges were made on the fraudulently approved cards. Bank of America security systems detected the allegedly fraudulent activities, and bank officials then contacted authorities.

Before the plea agreement, Bowman faced up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for the bank fraud charge and up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine for the credit card fraud charge.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court records in St. Louis show that Bowman filed for bankruptcy in 1990, when he owed more than $20,000, and again in 2004, when he owed more than $100,000.

Bowman was first elected in 2000, and made an unsuccessful bid for the state Senate in 2002. He won his House seat back in 2004 and was re-elected in 2006.