Former St. Louis circuit attorney Kimberly M. Gardner entered a plea agreement on Wednesday for misusing public funds.
The plea agreement stated that Gardner unlawfully took public funds of $5,004.33 to recoup the costs of a disciplinary order. The plea agreement provides Gardner immunity from prosecution for her misconduct if she does not violate any law for 18 months, reports to and follows the instructions of a pretrial service officer, and pays back $5,004.33 in restitution to the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office Contingent Fund.
The agreement stated: “From approximately November 1, 2022 through April 26, 2023, [then-prosecutor Gardner] directed employees of the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office to issue checks to her from public funds held in the Circuit Attorney’s Office Contingent Fund Account.” The funds were ostensibly reimbursement for Gardner paying court fees and other costs. Gardner had the funds deposited into her personal bank account and then used them for her own personal expenses. The contingent fund is only meant to be used for prosecutorial duties under Missouri law.
On August 30, 2022, the Supreme Court of Missouri ordered Gardner to pay a $750 disciplinary fee along with the cost of the disciplinary proceedings, which was $4,254.33. The order resulted from the court’s determination that Gardner violated the court’s ethical rules of conduct for attorneys when prosecuting a case against then-Governor Eric Greitens. Based on an audio recording, Gardner claimed Greitens invaded the privacy of an alleged extramarital partner by threatening her ex-husband that he would publish a nude photo of her if he made the affair public. Gardner dropped the charges after the trial court allowed Greitens to use her as a trial witness.
The court specifically found that Gardner failed to adhere to Greitens’s discovery request and therefore also unlawfully obstructed the opposing party’s access to the evidence. Additionally, the court found that she deceived the court about adhering to the discovery request.
