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ST. LOUIS — When officers arrested a man named Albert James last month, it looked like a routine drug bust.

But the case is tied to a larger criminal investigation into sexual assault allegations against an architect who used to live in St. Louis, Steve Warlick, and allegations of gifts to a former Mercy Health executive, Donn Sorensen, for construction work at the health system, several sources told the Post-Dispatch.

A federal grand jury on May 14 charged James, 47, with one count of conspiracy with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He was arrested on the charges in Richmond Heights on May 16. It was an unusual move because a similar case had been previously dismissed.

The federal charges here were resurrected from April 2021 Oklahoma state charges, after police there found 53 pounds of meth in James’ rental car while he was driving back to St. Louis from Phoenix, according to Oklahoma court documents. Those charges were dropped in November 2023. James had hired St. Louis’ top defense attorney, Scott Rosenblum, to represent him in that case and argued his arrest and the search of his car were improper.

Federal authorities have now brought the case back. And a press release about the new federal charges from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ alluded to a wider probe.

“This is part of a larger on-going investigation,� Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division said in the release. “Perpetrators should not underestimate the FBI’s expertise, resources, and tenacity to dismantle criminal networks.�

The federal prosecutor on the case, Dianna Edwards, doesn’t appear to do much work on drug cases. Rather, much of her recent work has been in charging sexual predators. She leads the

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment beyond the press release. James, reached Tuesday, said he didn’t know about a larger investigation or why federal prosecutors had brought back charges from his 2021 arrest in Oklahoma.

“I’m asking the same questions,� James said, declining to comment further.

His lawyer in the case, Talmage Newton IV, has filed a motion to suppress evidence from his Oklahoma arrest, arguing it was obtained during an illegal search of James’ vehicle.

Multiple people told the Post-Dispatch they had been approached by the FBI in recent months and were told the James drug case was tied to a broader probe. They say they were asked by the FBI about the allegations against Warlick, the architect, and Sorensen, the former Mercy executive.

James, Warlick and Sorensen were acquaintances, the sources said.

The allegations came to light after a lawsuit from Springfield, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥, construction company Pitt Development Group — owned by actor Brad Pitt’s brother, Doug Pitt — in early 2024. In the lawsuit, Pitt Development alleged that in 2021, Sorensen pushed the company to pay Warlick $65,000 in order to continue its agreement to build Mercy’s clinics. .

Pitt Development told Sorensen it already had an architect and Warlick hadn’t done any work, but Sorensen told the company to consider the payment “social capital,� according to the lawsuit.

Two people questioned by the FBI told the Post-Dispatch that agents asked specifically about gifts to Sorensen in exchange for construction work from Mercy.

Sorensen, reached by phone Tuesday and asked whether he knew Al James, quickly hung up.

In its lawsuit, Pitt Development also claimed that it had “discovered a disturbing connection between Sorensen and Warlick that related to business dealings, personal dealings and the sexual exploitation of women.� The company said in the lawsuit that it informed Mercy officials “about Mercy employee(s) potential bribery, extortion and sexual assault of women, including those below the age of 18.�

Mercy opened an internal investigation into the allegations. Sorensen, who was paid $2.5 million as a top executive in his last year as executive vice president of operations at the health system, left Mercy in December 2021 and was paid $1 million by the hospital system in 2022.

After it reported the situation to Mercy officials, the hospital system retaliated against it by ending its business relationship, Pitt Development alleges in its lawsuit. Mercy denies that and says in court filings it ended its relationship because of delays and construction defects on one of the clinics.

The system reached a confidential settlement with at least one woman following the investigation, according to court documents.

Several sources told the Post-Dispatch that FBI agents asked them about Warlick and reports of sexual assault. The sources asked not to be named because of the ongoing investigation.

In 2023, Warlick sued the woman who reached the settlement with Mercy, accusing her of libel. The suit says she made “malicious� and false allegations “to third parties� that he subjected her to “sex trafficking.�

In a statement to the Post-Dispatch last year, Warlick denied “any allegations as to wrongdoing of business dealings, personal dealings and/or sexual exploitation of women.� The woman, who the Post-Dispatch is not naming because of the nature of the allegations, has declined to comment.

Warlick, who now works for a firm based in Northwest Arkansas and no longer lives in St. Louis, confirmed in an interview Tuesday that he did know James. Asked about the federal investigation, Warlick said “this is all stemming from one individual.�

Told the allegations against him had come from multiple women, Warlick said in a statement that “none have filed charges.�

“And to my knowledge, none have come forward through legal channels,� Warlick said in a statement. “If their claims are real, they should be investigated — but not tried in the press based on anonymous, unverified statements.�

He questioned why Mercy would pay the woman in the settlement and also Sorensen after he left the hospital system. Warlick called it a “cover-up.�

“It’s all a cover-up,� Warlick said. “The question is, what are they covering up?�

On Tuesday evening, Bill Marsh, a criminal defense attorney, contacted the Post-Dispatch to say he represents Warlick.

Warlick "adamantly denies any allegations of sexual assault," Marsh said, "and we have not been able to confirm the existence of an FBI investigation."