(Jefferson City, MO) — A state audit says former Kennett Deputy City Clerk Leslie Osorio bought hundreds of personal items totaling more than $79,000 in taxpayer money.
According to the audit, Osorio used a city credit card to buy personal items from 2020 to 2022, such as pregnancy tests, a smart TV, an ovulation kit, food, rum, clothing, home decor, and toys.
Items the former Deputy Clerk admitted to being personal included a “Santa Gangsta” men’s fleece sweatshirt, a Powerpuff Girls™ shirt, along with other clothing and food items. Items Osorio could not provide an explanation for include a Sharper Image® percussion massager, personal lubricant, a “Let’s Get Deep” intimacy game for couples, a Kitchenaid® deluxe stand mixer, My Little Pony™ toys, and a Better Homes and Gardens® fake fireplace.
State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said Osorio also overpaid herself and her husband, who worked part-time for the fire department, more than $61,000 for time they did not work and for other reasons that were not allowed. Additional payments to Osorio and her husband totaling about $17,300 may also have been improper.
The report, which gives the City of Kennett a rating of “poor,” finds the city has lacking oversight and controls that allowed Osorio to misappropriate at least $79,821.
“We have worked directly with law enforcement to ensure they have everything they need to prosecute Leslie Osorio to the fullest extent of the law because of this enormous breach of the public’s trust. It’s outrageous that a city employee would be able to overpay herself and her husband by tens of thousands of dollars, or that she could get away with using a city credit card to purchase hundreds of personal items, such as a 43″ smart TV and the complete collection of the Madea movies on DVD. It’s equally disturbing to see the city failed to have adequate oversight in place that could have prevented this egregious misuse of taxpayer funds,” said Fitzpatrick.
The report says the Kennett City Council and the City Clerk did not provide adequate oversight or sufficiently review or approve payments. The report also shows how inaccurate and missing payroll records allowed payroll overpayments to go undetected.
Additionally, it says city leaders allowed numerous questionable and/or unnecessary purchases to occur, and the city does not have any guidance or policy regarding the use of city funds to buy food, gifts, and other items. City leaders also failed to review credit card statements or related records prior to payment and instead set the credit card accounts, including the city Walmart credit card, to be paid automatically.
The audit recommends improved segregation of accounting duties as well as appropriate reviews and monitoring procedures. Kennett city leaders have agreed to make the auditor’s recommendations as quickly as possible.
The full audit report is available here.
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