Guilty plea accepted by defendant in Bowman credit card, bank fraud case

Yet another defendant in the bank and credit card case, whose defendants include Rep. John Bowman, D-St. Louis, pleaded guilty today in U. S. District Court in St. Louis.

Court records indicate William Hart, 27, pleaded guilty during a 20-minute session this morning to a bank fraud charge. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 24.

Bowman is one of only five of the original 17 defendants remaining in the case. Most of the others have entered guilty pleas. In documents filed Tuesday, Bowman asked to keep the original trial date of Nov. 26, and said he had no objections to severing his case from the other defendants.