St. Louis prosecutor spent weeks away from office while in nursing school, audit finds

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COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — St. Louis’ embattled former Democratic prosecutor Kim Gardner spent the equivalent of seven weeks in nursing school classes during business hours, according to a scathing report released Tuesday by the state auditor.

Republican Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick’s review also found widespread staff turnover, misuse of public funds and a significant drop in cases filed, referred and closed before Gardner resigned under fire in 2023.

“In my view, the driving force was Kim Gardner’s failure to make her job as circuit attorney her top priority,” Fitzpatrick told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The audit found Gardner spent “34.5 working days, or approximately 7 weeks” doing nursing school coursework at Saint Louis University during business hours.

Gardner told auditors that she was pursuing a family nurse practitioner post-master’s certificate “to improve the office and bring mental health awareness” to the office.

The Associated Press left phone and email messages with lawyers for Gardner on Tuesday.

Other issues cited in the audit include more than $58,000 in public funds spent on flowers, a disc jockey, car detailing, an office picnic, a chili cookout and Gardner’s personal legal expenses.

Getting information from the office while Gardner was in charge was difficult, according to auditors. Employees denied or delayed audit requests for two years until subpoenaed, and “full access to documents, personnel, and the office itself was only given after the new administration took over,” according to the audit report.

Criticism of Gardner is not new.

At the time of her resignation, she was targeted for removal by Missouri Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey. And GOP lawmakers were considering a bill allowing the Republican governor to appoint a special prosecutor to handle violent crimes, effectively removing the bulk of Gardner’s responsibilities.

Gardner was part of a movement of progressive prosecutors who sought diversion to mental health treatment or drug abuse treatment for low-level crimes, pledged to hold police more accountable, and sought to free incarcerated people who were wrongfully convicted.