ST. LOUIS COUNTY • A senior St. Louis County health department official was found dead of an apparent suicide Thursday, hours before county administrators planned to question him about millions of dollars missing from the department.
Webster Groves police discovered the body of Edward Mueth, 39, next to a vehicle near the 8800 block of Big Bend Boulevard about 9:45 p.m. Thursday. Mueth, of the 400 block of Gray Avenue in Webster Groves, apparently died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Webster Groves Police Lt. Andrew Miller said.
Miller said a suicide note was discovered at the scene.
Mueth was the health department’s division manager for administrative services. He was employed by the county for nearly nine years.
Questions about Mueth arose as health department officials came across a handful of suspicious invoices while preparing the 2014 budget, according to county spokeswoman Patricia Washington.
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“It caused some issues,” Washington said. “Something didn’t add up.”
The officials took the matter to the county counselor’s office and then to Chief Operating Officer Garry Earls.
After reviewing additional financial records, officials shut down Mueth’s access to the county computer system. He was ordered to report first thing Friday for a meeting with Earls and Health Department Director Dolores Gunn, Washington said.
Washington said County Executive Charlie Dooley had asked County Police Chief Tim Fitch to head an investigation.
Fitch said Earls contacted him Friday afternoon asking his department to investigate whether money went missing under Mueth’s watch. Fitch would not specify how much money was missing, saying only that it involved “millions of dollars over a several-year period.”
“Due to the large amount of money involved it’s my recommendation that it be investigated by the FBI,” Fitch said.
Mueth filed for bankruptcy in 2004, and at the time said he was making less than $500 per month as a laborer for a construction company, according to bankruptcy records. His wife filed for divorce the following year, the same year he started working for the county.
Mueth was paid an annual salary of $86,645 in 2012, according to county records.
In May 2010, he bought the home on Gray Avenue for $1.475 million, according to county property records.
Mueth is survived by a 9-year-old son.
Valerie Schremp Hahn of the Post-Dispatch staff contributed to this story.