An audit report found that weak oversight by the St. Louis city council and then-city auditor led to abuses by former-county executive Steven Stenger, who pleaded guilty to three federal counts of pay-to-play schemes that cost taxpayers between $250,000 and $550,000.
The audit, conducted by Missouri Auditor Nicole Galloway’s office, found that the city council lacked oversight over the projects that Stenger accepted campaign donations to close. Although many employees thought a 20-year lease for office space at a shopping mall owned by friends of Stenger was abusive, the council still passed the contract with a 5-1 vote.
