ST. LOUIS — An audit of the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office is picking up steam following months of obstruction from the city’s former chief prosecutor Kimberly M. Gardner, Missouri Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said Monday.

Fitzpatrick, during a visit to the Carnahan Courthouse, said Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore welcomed in auditors in recent weeks to begin a comprehensive review of the office’s policies and finances as part of a broader probe of the entire city that began in 2018.

The audit is the only remaining inquiry into Gardner’s office, which faced legal threats and scrutiny before Gardner’s abrupt resignation in May.

“We want to make sure we get this thing out,” Fitzpatrick said. “The taxpayers of the city of St. Louis have been waiting a long time for this audit to be released.”

The audit began in 2018 when city officials requested a comprehensive review of finances and policies. As part of the agreement, city taxpayers will foot the bill.

Fitzpatrick’s predecessor, Nicole Galloway, completed much of the audit, and Fitzpatrick picked it up after he was elected last November.

Auditors tried for months to obtain records from the Circuit Attorney’s Office but faced a nearly constant back-and-forth with lawyers who either refused to turn over records or provided them with heavy redactions.

In one case, Fitzpatrick said, the office turned over a bill showing the purchase of an airplane ticket with the name of the passenger, destination and reason for the trip all blacked out, making it impossible to tell whether the purchase had been legal.

“We couldn’t really make use of it,” he said.

In March, Fitzpatrick subpoenaed Gardner’s office requesting several documents, including bank and credit card statements and policy guidelines. The office did not respond, and Fitzpatrick said he was prepared to file to enforce the subpoena on May 16 — the exact day Gardner resigned.

In recent weeks, auditors have been welcomed in by Gore’s administration to review financial documents as well as other policies, including prosecutor workload, Fitzpatrick said.

“It’s just a total change in the demeanor in terms of the willingness to support the auditor’s work to get the job done,” he said.

The audit is expected to be complete in 2024.