01/07/2025 - JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.
A new report released today by State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick details
how the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office experienced a dramatic downturn in
effectiveness under the watch of former Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, in part
because she used work hours to pursue certification as a nurse practitioner
rather than devote her complete attention to running the office. The report,
which gives the office the lowest possible rating of "poor" and also
describes how Gardner impeded the audit, notes the significant decline in the
number of cases referred, filed, and closed while also highlighting more than
$58,000 in unallowable purchases for things like disc jockey services, party
location rentals, chili cook-out supplies, car detailing, and personal
legal expenses.
"On the same day Kim Gardner should have been in a courtroom
performing her duties as Circuit Attorney she was instead in a classroom pursuing
her nursing certification. The judge at the time said Gardner was the captain
of a 'rudderless ship of chaos' and our report backs up that claim by detailing
how the performance of the Circuit Attorney's Office declined significantly
because of her neglect and mismanagement," said Fitzpatrick. "Taxpayers
should be outraged by how this office was run into the ground by Gardner at the
same time she was using tax dollars to throw parties for her staff, and to pay
for her personal legal fees that were a result of her own incompetence."
The report shows how the number of cases processed, filed, and
closed significantly declined while the time to prosecute the reduced caseload
significantly increased. Additionally, the office under Gardner's watch refused
prosecution for significantly more cases than the prior administration. With
Gardner at the helm, office personnel, on average, refused approximately 59
percent of referred cases, which is an increase of approximately 40 percent
from the average percentage of cases refused by the prior administration. Under
Gardner, it also took office personnel significantly longer to file charges and
significantly fewer cases were filed. The number of cases filed decreased from
an average of 4,666 cases per year during the prior administration to only
2,529 cases per year during Gardner's time in the position. Personnel under
Gardner took, on average, approximately 463 days to dispose of a case, which
was significantly higher than the prior administration's average of
approximately 293 days and the current administration's average of 142 days. In
addition, the Circuit Attorney's Office did not dispose of 95 percent of felony
cases within 14 months of case filing, as recommended by the Missouri Supreme
Court.
The audit
also details how Gardner missed important case appearances and failed to
fulfill her statutory mandate to dedicate her time and energy to the discharge
of her official duties. Instead, she took classes and completed clinical
coursework to obtain a Family Nurse Practitioner, Post-Master's Certificate
from Saint Louis University. Records obtained from the university by the State
Auditor's Office show 40 separate
instances in which the Gardner spent time during normal office business hours
completing clinical coursework. This equates to 34.5 working days, or
approximately 7 weeks, away from her circuit attorney duties. Gardner's neglect
of her official duties drew the attention of the public on April 27, 2023, when
she failed to make a court appearance and instead sent a designee who knew
little about the case in question. Gardner was in clinical classes for her nursing
certification that day when she was found to be in indirect criminal contempt
of court, and the judge referred to her as the captain of a "rudderless
ship of chaos." The report also shows how Gardner's neglect of the office
contributed to staffing levels plummeting as the office had 141 employees at
the beginning of her tenure but was down to 89 employees by May 2023.
Another
finding in the audit focuses on the misuse of $58,482 for disbursements from
the Contingency Fund that were not allowed by state law including purchases of food,
flowers, disc jockey services, wall art, party and community meeting location rentals, a Sam's Club
membership, chili cook-out supplies, Sunshine Law violation fines, car
detailing, employee plaques, personal legal expenses, a new CAO website, and
credit card late fees and interest charges. The
purchases, which were made from an account kept outside of the city treasury in
violation of state law, in many cases lacked supporting documentation to prove
they were a prudent use of taxpayer funds. The report also documents how
Gardner authorized reimbursements to herself totaling $6,688 for her personal
legal fees. In August 2022,
the Supreme Court of Missouri found Gardner violated the Rules of Professional
Conduct during her prosecution of former Governor Eric Greitens. The Court
assessed her fines of $5,004. Gardner made four payments to the Court totaling
this amount but then directed the Circuit Attorney's Office to reimburse her. On July
23, 2024, Gardner signed a diversion agreement with the United States
Attorney's office, accepting responsibility for misusing more than $5,000 in
public funds and agreed to pay back the $5,004 to the Circuit Attorney's
Office. Gardner also improperly
directed the office to reimburse her for two payments totaling $1,684 to the
Missouri Supreme Court for pro hac vice
fees associated with the petition for quo warranto filed by the Missouri
Attorney General's Office.
The
report also documents how Gardner acted to prevent the audit from the day it
began in 2021. Gardner initially required all requests for records from the
State Auditor's Office be made to the First Assistant Circuit Attorney, and
subsequently an outside attorney paid for by city taxpayers. Along with other
office representatives, they repeatedly ignored or delayed responding to
requests for the next two years and only provided partial responses after being
subpoenaed. Gardner's office also provided limited information, denied onsite
access needed to conduct interviews and perform audit work, and unnecessarily
redacted documentation. Gardner also avoided providing testimony to auditors
and then evaded service for months after being subpoenaed. The audit notes full
access to documents, personnel, and the office itself was only given after Gabe
Gore took over as Circuit Attorney in May 2023.
Another
finding in the audit highlights the failure of the office to solicit bids or proposals for goods and services
as required by law, and the failure to maintain documentation to support
procurement decisions. The audit identified 11 CAO vendors that provided
services during the audit period and were paid a total of $1,926,924 that
should have been competitively procured. Other findings include accounting
control weaknesses, a failure to maintain a complete and accurate seized
property inventory listing, lacking procedures to ensure employees return office equipment upon termination
as required by policy, and insufficient controls and procedures to limit
CaseNet access in accordance with court operating rules.
"Our
audit report paints a clear picture of an office that was far better off before
Kim Gardner took over and has quickly rebounded after her departure. Despite
her efforts to stand in the way of the audit process, we were able to obtain
the information necessary to give taxpayers the full story on the damage she
did to the office," said Fitzpatrick. "I'm thankful current
Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore has begun to right the ship and that he worked to
ensure we had the access we needed to complete this audit. I encourage him to
implement all of our recommendations to ensure city taxpayers are well served
and the office complies with legal requirements well into the future."
The audit is the final report issued in the audit of the City of St. Louis that was requested by the Board of Alderman in January 2018. The complete report for the City of St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office can be found here.
