A George Soros-bankrolled prosecutor in St. Louis already mired in allegations of negligence and misconduct was hit with more bad news on Friday, when one of the few remaining prosecutors who handles the city's most violent felonies abruptly resigned, citing a "toxic work environment."
Natalia Ogurkiewicz, 27, joined the office of St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner in 2020 and handled several murder and other felony cases. She initially planned to leave Gardner's office at the end of the month but announced Friday she was departing early, local media reported.
In her resignation letter, Ogurkiewicz didn't hold back in lambasting Gardner while explaining her reasons for leaving."As a St. Louis resident, I have lost trust in Kim Gardner from the inside," wrote Ogurkiewicz. "I do not believe that her leadership can stop the metaphorical or physical ballistics from continuing to fly through our city."Gardner is one of the first prosecutors whom Soros, a liberal billionaire and Democrat mega-donor, bankrolled in 2016 and again for her re-election in 2020. She announced last month that she'll seek a third term.
Ogurkiewicz's departure is the latest example of persistent staffing issues that have plagued Gardner's office, which has long been understaffed and now has just five prosecutors left to handle hundreds of violent felonies.
Gardner, who took office in 2017, had a more than 100% turnover rate for attorneys in her first two years in office and by earlier this year had about half as many attorneys on staff as when she assumed the job. The effect of the high turnover in Gardner's office has been "a state of dysfunction, low morale and dearth of legal wisdom necessary to safeguard the public from potentially dangerous criminals," the St. Louis Post-Dispatch previously reported.
A spokeswoman for the Circuit Attorney's Office told the Post-Dispatch that the office couldn't speak on personal matters but "continues to aggressively recruit and hire attorneys and support staff to serve the people of the city of St. Louis."
The latest resignation comes as Gardner, a Democrat, is in a legal fight to hold onto her job. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, launched a legal process seeking to fire her, claiming the prosecutor is neglecting her duties by not enforcing the law or protecting public safety.'
