After dropping it in November, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell refiled the quo warranto petition on Dec. 26 seeking to remove Dennis Hancock, R-Fenton, from the St. Louis County Council for hiring his stepdaughter and arranging a cover-up. 

On Aug. 14, Hancock formally appointed his stepdaughter, Hollie Galati, to be his legislative assistant at a rate of $24.88 per hour, adding up to a salary of $51,888 per year. This also included a $300 monthly vehicle allowance and full benefits. Galati completed employment paperwork stating that she was a non-merit, non-civil service employee working for Hancock, accepting her salary, job duties and benefits on Aug. 19. She was given a staff parking pass, an employee number for direct deposit and information on benefits that were to begin on Oct. 1.

At the time she was hired, both Hancock and Galati acknowledged that they were related. This became problematic as per the Missouri Constitution, “any public officer or employee in this state who by virtue of his office or employment names or appoints to public office or employment any relative within the fourth degree, by consanguinity or affinity, shall thereby forfeit his office or employment.”

Bell filed the initial quo warranto petition on Aug. 27. Hancock was briefly barred from his duties as an elected official, though a separate judge reinstated him with “full authority” in time for the council’s Aug. 27 meeting.

In November, Bell withdrew the petition so his office could continue its investigation on the matter. His office released the following statement: 

“Our office deputized a Warren County prosecutor with expertise in quo warranto petitions to ensure that we are fulfilling our duty to uphold the Missouri Constitution and enforce the anti-nepotism laws. We have determined that it is in the best interest of the public to continue our investigation of this and related matters; therefore, we are withdrawing the quo warranto petition at this time,” Chris King, a spokesperson for the St. Louis County Prosecutor’s office, stated in a press release. “To be clear, this investigation is ongoing, and we encourage individuals with relevant information to contact investigator Patrick Henson at 314-312-9230.”

The continued investigation revealed an email from Aug. 27 – the day the initial quo warranto petition was filed – in which Galati told St. Louis County Clerk Diann Valenti that she no longer wanted the job, requesting that any hours she worked be considered voluntary and unpaid. 

Valenti, acting with others, then tried to switch Galati’s status from “new hire” to “rejected.” Per court documents, Valenti sent emails to county staff stating that Galati resigned, was only a volunteer or never started. 

Further emails sent from Aug. 27-29 show St. Louis County payroll employees referring to conversations they had with Valenti about not finishing the hiring process for Galati. The emails show county employees knowingly – or unknowingly – being involved in the coverup.

As Galati was later found to have worked for Hancock, the Fair Labor Standards Act required that she be paid for the hours she worked, despite how few. Regardless of requests from Valenti, Galati’s paperwork and payroll was processed, and she was paid $1,182.47. Hancock represented to the public that Galati was never paid. 

Valenti gave Hancock falsified screenshots showing that Galati was not paid. The falsified screenshots were sent by Hancock to a paid lobbyist who posted them as “proof” that Hancock did not violate the law. 

On Sept. 19, St. Louis County employees in payroll received a certified letter from Galati alleging that she never worked in St. Louis County and that she never gave permission to St. Louis County employees to deposit money in her account. She demanded that  St. Louis County reverse its direct deposit. Multiple county employees concluded Galati did, in fact, work for the county and that, under the law, they could not change the check or money involved. 

The quo warranto aims to remove Hancock from his seat on the council immediately, though it is unclear how soon or if it will happen.