Report No. 2010-17
January 2010
Complete Audit Report

The following findings were included in our audit report on the City of St. Louis, Office of Circuit Attorney.

Controls and procedures for recording, monitoring, and disposal of case evidence are not sufficient. One complete list of all evidence on hand is not maintained and a periodic inventory of evidence on hand is not conducted. Evidence is not posted to the case tracking software system immediately upon receipt. The only record of evidence for current cases is the property voucher forms maintained in the case files and a manual log. There are no written procedures to review or update disposal dates of case evidence held by the Circuit Attorney. Several cases listed on the Evidence Disposal Report showed case evidence located in the property rooms with old disposal dates or no disposal date. The Circuit Attorney's office does not notify the city police or sheriff departments of evidence to be retained indefinitely in the property custody section.

Formal bank reconciliations are not prepared timely by the Victim Services Unit for the Asset Forfeiture or Benefit Donations Accounts. In addition, differences between book and bank balances are not adequately investigated and any resulting adjustments approved. Audit staff prepared a bank reconciliation for the Asset Forfeiture Account and the Benefit Donations Account for the month ended June 30, 2009, and noted several large adjustments and unreconciled differences of $3,748 and $590, respectively. Bank reconciliations are not adequately documented by the White Collar Crime Unit for the Bad Check Account. In addition, the bad check account has an unidentified balance of $3,077 which has been carried forward for several years.

Proposals were not solicited or were not documented for the selection of process servers and access to a case law research database. The White Collar Crime Unit did not conduct a formal study to support the percentage of monies withheld from the bond and asset forfeiture monies transferred to the state. Monitoring procedures for the Circuit Attorney's office are not sufficient for fuel purchases. The office has 14 vehicles and paid approximately $33,200 for fuel from July 2007 through December 2008.

Complete Audit Report
Missouri State Auditor's Office
moaudit@auditor.mo.gov