ST. LOUIS (CN) -St. Louis County sheriff's deputies demanded bribes to carry out eviction notices promptly, and are still retaliating against a business that helped federal agents investigate them, an eviction company claims in Federal Court.
Landlords Moving Service and Laura Nelson-Smith say deputies forced eviction companies to pay them to carry out eviction orders and for references to landowners seeking to evict tenants.
After the plaintiffs refused to continue the illegal payments in 2003 and 2004, the deputies conspired with the Independent Eviction Agency and James Siebels to try to force them out of the evictions market in St. Louis County, the complaint states.
Plaintiffs sued former deputies Curly Hines, Marcus Lipe, Richard Robinson and David Rodriguez and current deputy Laurie Main, and St. Louis County, Independent Eviction, Siebels and former St. Louis County Sheriffs Gene Overall and James Buckles.
Plaintiffs also say that Main and other deputies are continuing to retaliate against them for helping federal prosecutors in criminal investigations against Hines, Lipe, Robinson and Rodriguez. Main and others still try to divert business from Landlords Moving to Independent Eviction and make Landlords' clients wait an inordinate amount of time to process their evictions, the suit states.
The plaintiffs seek punitive damages and are represented by Joshua Schindler.
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