ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has admitted to misusing public funds worth slightly over $5,000 and has entered a pretrial diversion program in U.S. District Court in St. Louis as part of an agreement.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Eastern Missouri, Gardner admitted to directing her employees to issue a series of checks totaling $5,004.33 from the Contingent Fund Account in the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office to reimburse her for paying the fees and costs assessed against her personally by the Missouri Supreme Court back in August 2022.
The Supreme Court reprimanded Gardner and found that she had violated ethical rules during her office’s prosecution of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens.
The money was deposited into her personal account and used for non-work-related expenses. By Missouri statute, money from the contingent fund can only be used to pay such expenses as necessary for the proper and vigorous prosecution of the duties of the Circuit Attorney’s Office.
Gardner must repay the funds and stay out of legal trouble for 18 months to avoid further prosecution.
"The agreement follows a thorough investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI, during which investigators interviewed all pertinent witnesses and reviewed all available evidence and financial records," said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming. "This is a just and fair outcome for a case involving a former official and the misuse of public funds that just met the minimum required under the pertinent federal criminal statute."
Gardner's attorney Ronald Sullivan released a statement on the agreement.
"While Ms. Gardner was prepared to vigorously defend any allegations that may have been lodged against her, she and the government agreed to end any dispute and terminate any investigation with the pre-charge diversion agreement," said Sullivan in a statement.
"Contrary to what some media have reported, Ms. Gardner has not been charged with a crime. Accordingly, Ms. Gardner has not entered a guilty plea to any crime, nor would she do so. The pre-charge diversion agreement resolves a potential dispute between Ms. Gardner and the government, without need for a federal trial, involving whether Ms. Gardner was lawfully reimbursed from a proper Circuit Attorney Office account for certain expenses she incurred while she served as the Circuit Attorney."