Audit: Wesley Bell-led prosecutor's office lacked oversight and timekeeping

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. - A Missouri state audit of the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney's Office under Wesley Bell found no evidence of major misconduct, but raised concerns about office practices, including credit card use, secondary employment and insufficient timekeeping.

Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick released the findings Monday in a state auditor's investigative summary report, evaluating the conduct and internal practices of the prosecutor's office during Bell's tenure from Jan. 1, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2024.

Pertaining to credit card use, the audit accounted for 195 transactions, including 47 on Bell's card and 148 transactions over three other employee cards. The audit found no issues with purchases on Bell's card, used only for monthly web service fees.

According to the auditor's report, no "improper purchases" on behalf of office employees were identified, but it found that one meal expense lacked documentation on the meeting purpose and a hotel fee was charged for a witness who didn't appear due to a late cancellations. It also found one employee was reimbursed for an extra hotel night, and though appropriate for the employee to be reimbursed, it was against office policy to do so through a credit card.

Additionally, the audit found there to be animal care costs for "an advocate dog provided by a third party," which was paid without a contract, violating a state law that requires written agreements for such purchases.

Pertaining to secondary employment, the audit determined that some prosecuting office attorneys "were working in secondary positions of local municipal courts during PAO working hours," violating office policy.

The audit found 43 such instances where court sessions conflicted with PAO hours and no PTO hours were taken, per office policy. The auditor's office conducted a review into this matter and determined 41 of 43 instances in which attorneys "did not appear during PAO hours." The two other cases could not be verified and "were insufficient to determine if attorneys worked alternative hours to make up their time," making it whether the attorneys made up the time or violated office policy.

Pertaining to timekeeping, the audit found that around 51 percent of timesheets "were not signed by a supervisor to document their review and approval." While no formal policy required supervisor sign-off under Bell's administration, the audit considers it a best practice "to ensure records are accurate."

Current St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney, Melissa Price-Smith, has implemented a weekly supervisor review policy sometime since taking over in January, according to the audit.

The auditor's reported that all Sunshine Law requests were tracked and addressed, but noted "there were opportunities for more timely response in some instances."

The auditor's report made recommendations such as stronger enforcement of travel and food spending rules, formalizing service contracts, requiring PTO for any outside paid work and strengthening timekeeping and supervisory review processes.