ST. LOUIS (KMOX Radio) -- A state audit released today finds the St. Louis jail has been failing to return money belonging to inmates after they're released. State Auditor Susan Montee says one account has 143-thousand dollars, representing the money of over 11-thousand inmates going back ten years.
"The way that they had it set up, they made the inmates jump through hoops in order to get their money," Montee said.
Department of Public Safety Director Charles Bryson says he's working to make it easier for inmates to get their money back. "You have a transient population," Bryson said, "They come in, they're gone. They may not have a forwarding address, so we can't send them mail."
The audit did not find that any of the inmate money was being spent by the city.
The audit also found shoddy bookkeeping in the justice center's commissary account. No monthly bank reconciliations were being prepared. As a result, the Corrections Division was not aware of unauthorized withdrawals form the commissary bank account. A former inmate withdrew $18, 012. The Corrections Division has recovered approximately $15,000 from the bank, the audit found.
Meanwhile, a separate audit released today questions whether Lambert Airport, which has lost hundreds of flights in recent years, still needs three fire houses.
State Auditor Montee called for the city to consider shutting down one to save 1.8 million dollars annually.
"The airport is funding the operations at the south fire house when the FAA has said that the south fire house is unnecessary for their regulations and response time," Montee said.
Public Safety Director Bryson, who also oversees the fire department, responded that the recommendation is under study. "This cannot be decided just on dollars and sense, " Bryson said, "It must be on safety for the residents of that area, as well as those people who go through that terminal."
Her two latest audits bring to 16 the number of city departments she has completed audits on. Seven more are pending, including the police department, scheduled for release Tuesday.
E-Mail Story
Print Story
