City Investigating Mayor's Role in Bringing Ranken Tech to Town

Concerns that Mayor Paul Lambi acted unethically while pursuing Ranken Technical College to open a satellite campus in Wentzville have been "referred to appropriate agencies and/or authorities for further investigation," according to a press release issued by the City Attorney Paul Rost.

The vague release, in which no person or issue was actually named, was in response to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch report that said the Wentzville Board of Aldermen were looking into whether Lambi mixed official duties with his role as chief executive officer of a private consulting firm.

At issue is an unsuccessful attempt last year by the firm, Winning Endeavors, to get St. Louis-based Ranken Technical College to donate to a student mentoring initiative that the firm has been promoting.

Ranken later negotiated with the city to establish a satellite campus in Wentzville with help from a city subsidy.

Lambi has admitted no such wrong doing and board several board members seemed furious at such reports. 

According to the city release, an initial investigation, which began because of an employee complaint, has led to the discovery of issues. 

"To respect the privacy of the employee(s) involved and to protect the integrity of the process, the City reserves the any further comments until after the investigation is completed and conclusive findings can be announced," the release said."

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