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In an unprecedented downfall in St. Louis County politics, former County Executive Steve Stenger will plead guilty Friday to federal corruption charges. He resigned Monday soon after an April 25 grand jury indictment was unsealed alleging a pay-to-play scheme involving trading political favors for campaign donations.

Stenger pleaded not guilty Monday (go inside the courtroom with our reporting team), but notably never publicly said he was innocent of the charges since a federal subpoena was revealed five weeks ago.

New County Executive Sam Page — the former County Council chairman who sued and sparred with Stenger every step of the way over the last two years — was selected as Stenger’s successor in a contentious vote Monday night, with many audience members wondering why the County Council acted so quickly and why they didn’t instead choose the longest-serving council member, 1st District Councilwoman Hazel Erby, D-University City.

Visit our website at callnewspapers.com for full coverage of the Stenger case and everything leading up to it.