This Brian Nieves/Shawn Bell mess is really starting to get ugly.
St. Louis Beacon:
According to Bell’s complaint, an angry Nieves grabbed Bell and shouted obscenities. At one point, Bell’s complaint alleges that Nieves head-butted him, displayed a gun and threatened to kill Bell. Nieves ordered Bell to take off his shirt, in part so Nieves could see if Bell was wired with a hidden tape recorder, the complaint says. Bell also was ordered to lie on the floor and feared he was going to be killed, the complaint says.
Nieves also called his wife and ordered Bell to apologize to her, the complaint says. During the call, Nieves is alleged to have scrolled through Bell’s text messages stored on his cell phone. Later, the complaint says, Nieves got a bit calmer and allowed Bell to leave.
We received this email letter from a “John Franks” about a week before last Tuesday’s primary election. We decided rather quickly not to post the letter because the allegations were frankly too far out there – even for us! There were no pictures, no recordings, no testimony from credible witnesses; just an email making very serious allegations. So we left it alone.
But, after Mr. Bell filed a complaint with the authorities saying he was assaulted by Mr. Nieves at Nieves’ campaign office, we have decided to post the letter. Why? Because with this being such a high profile case, these allegations will get out – either in the public domain or in a court of law. If Mr. Nieves is allegedly willing to risk his political career by assaulting his opponent’s campaign manager over rumors and innuendos, then we believe it’s news to inform our readers of what those rumors and innuendos are.
Related:
RFT: State Rep. Brian Nieves Accused of Assaulting Political Rival
0 responses so far ↓
1 Marcus Bottom // Aug 10, 2010 at 9:08 am
Wow is all I can say. I had heard about the letter a few weeks prior to the primary but shrugged it off as dirty politics. This is the first time I had seen it. Some people have a lot to answer for.
I have always believe Brian to be a stand up guy and think he still is, but he needs to open up about this and refute the claims…also Linda Fischer needs to make a statement as well.
If there was in fact an affair going on (and these things do happen in Jeff City), than I think Brian should step down in his efforts to run for office. If Brian can clear his name, then whoever put out this letter needs to be burned at the stake as this has caused undoubtedly huge stresses in the lives of many people including inside the Nieves’s household.
Politics is a dirty game.
2 Lynn // Aug 10, 2010 at 10:25 am
If Mr. Nieves had so many affairs that the gentleman writing the letter indicates I have a few questions for Mr. Franks. How do you know about so many affairs? Have any of the people you think he had an affair with confirmed your statements? What proof do you have other than your musings?
3 Digital // Aug 10, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Somehow I suspect there is no “John Franks”. There is no address on the letter, no phone number ID’ing the fax number that sent the letter. No proof of the allegations mentioned, just names dragged through the mud. No way to test the original letter for fingerprints or DNA.
I hope Brian files a huge libel/slander suit against Mr. Bell.
4 Dr Ildefonso Gonzalez // Aug 11, 2010 at 6:43 am
This alegations do not make any sence, I know personally Brian Nieves and he is a Conservative Christian man, Shawn Bell must have a political and personal reason to make such accusations, Brian is a family man, honest and passionate about serving Washington Missouri, Shawn Bell must be a racist, motivated by a desire to damage Brian reputation, the Hispanic community is outraged by this allegations without foundations… without proof…Shawn Bell is trying to make of Brian a stereotype. We consider Brian one the very best most patriotic and conservative elected officials, hope that Sen. Brian Nieves will bring a libel/slander suit to this man.
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