St. Louis Circuit Attorney Announces Hires Amid Push for Higher Pay

Gabe Gore calls clearing the office's case backlog a "key priority"

Jun 15, 2023 at 2:53 pm

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Courtesy photo

St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore

The St. Louis Circuit Attorney's Office announced today that it is bringing on five new prosecutors, new hires in addition to the five other prosecutors who have joined the office since May 30.

Christopher Faerber, Bret M. Rich and Sherry Wolk are joining the office as assistant circuit attorneys. Allison Schreiber Lee and Terrence J. O’Toole Jr. are signing on as special prosecutors, meaning they will remain in their current private practice jobs while working pro bono to help the office clear its case backlog.

“These attorneys each bring decades of trial experience and have collectively tried more than 150 felony cases,” St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore said in a statement. “I am impressed by how many talented attorneys heard the call to public service and stepped forward so quickly.”

Faerber previously worked as an assistant circuit attorney in the city prosecutor’s office. Rich previously worked for the prosecutor’s office in St. Louis County. O’Toole was an assistant circuit attorney in the office’s Drug Unit from 2008 to 2010.

Gore’s predecessor, Kim Gardner, struggled with staffing issues. Under her leadership the office at times had fewer than five prosecutors in its Violent Crimes Unit.

The news of the new hires comes on the same day the Post-Dispatch reports that a bill is making its way through the Board of Aldermen that would increase the pay for prosecutors at the Circuit Attorney’s Office.

Right now, pay for entry-level line prosecutor positions maxes out at $73,000. The bill, proposed by Ward 8 Alderwoman Cara Spencer, would raise that cap to $80,300.

Since Gore took over as circuit attorney, Judge Marvin Teer has returned as chief trial officer. Former assistant circuit attorneys Mary Pat Carl and Steven Capizzi have also come back to the office as the chief of the Homicide Unit and the chief warrant officer, respectively.

Gore said in the statement announcing the new hires today that clearing the backlog of cases is a "key priority" for his administration.