Mystery deepens in the case of a no-show Missouri politician

BRIDGETON, Mo. — We’re studying extra a few no-show alderman after Wednesday’s unique FOX Recordsdata investigation, together with a brand new bombshell discovery. An absentee politician being paid to symbolize individuals in Bridgeton, Missouri, was additionally prosecuting alleged suspects in Illinois.

Andrew Purcell seemingly deserted his Bridgeton Metropolis Council locker about six months in the past, shortly after the October 2021 assembly.

That was the final time Bridgeton Mayor Terry Briggs remembers seeing Purcell.

“Frequently that you simply’d proceed to not present up for conferences and don’t inform individuals? One thing was amiss and that’s when come to search out out, he wasn’t getting back from his different job down in Southern Illinois,” Briggs stated.

FOX 2 has confirmed Andrew Purcell was working as an Assistant State’s Lawyer in Williamson County, Illinois, from March 1, 2021, till February 17, 2022. The prosecutor’s workplace says it could’t say why he left as a result of it’s a personnel concern, however then Purcell filed to run as a county commissioner there.

“To have any individual pop up out of nowhere was sort of surprising to us,” Jeff Diederich, chairman of the Williamson County Republican Celebration. “It didn’t take a lot to determine that one thing was not utterly clear.”

Diederich filed a 150-page grievance in opposition to Purcell based mostly on his findings of Purcell’s questionable residency.

“Once we found that the voters of Bridgeton, Missouri, very similar to the voters right here in Williamson County, Illinois, have issues about eligibility – it places a blemish on the communities as an entire and I feel it tarnishes the general public notion,” he stated.

We discovered Purcell is listed as proudly owning a Bridgeton apartment unit, by which the taxes are paid updated.

There was no reply once we knocked. He additionally hasn’t answered our greater than six telephone calls. A brand new councilperson, Becky Patel, was sworn in Wednesday to take Purcell’s place as a Ward 2 alderman.

As a result of Purcell simply disappeared, nobody filed to run for his spot, together with Purcell. Voters had to decide on their new councilperson through write-in poll. Bridgeton’s metropolis council voted to censure Purcell in order that his actions would seem on his everlasting report.

“We’re not accepting this,” stated Briggs. “This was flawed so that you can do that and anyone who is available in and asks us about it, like your self, we’ll go forward and inform everyone, ‘Hey, you cheated the general public.’”

Purcell received one single vote throughout this previous April sixth election. Bridgeton officers puzzled if Purcell got here again to vote for himself. We checked with the St. Louis County election workplace.

A consultant advised us it was a secret poll. So we are able to’t discover out who solid that vote, however open information do present it couldn’t have been Andrew Purcell. That’s as a result of the information present he didn’t vote within the newest St. Louis County election.