ST. LOUIS (AP) -- St. Louis Police Chief Joe Mokwa retired Friday, amid concerns raised in recent days that he wasn't completely forthcoming about a seized car scandal involving his daughter and members of his department.

After a meeting that lasted for much of the day, the St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners announced late Friday that it unanimously accepted Mokwa's offer to retire.

Board President Chris Goodson said the chief formally offered earlier in the week to end his 37-year-career with the department, and the board then agreed.

Mokwa, 59, appearing somber at a news conference, said he had heard from "countless officers" who encouraged him to stay on the job, but he believed retiring was the best solution he could offer.

"The well-being of our city is far more important to me than the continuation of my own career," he said.

The announcement came amid an inquiry into the use of vehicles at the city's impound yard, both by officers and Mokwa's estranged daughter.

Last week, the department announced an internal investigation had found problems with the system St. Louis uses to impound vehicles seized as evidence, but no criminal wrongdoing. However, several city officials have since said they supported a federal investigation into the matter.

For years, the department contracted with S&H Towing to take vehicles seized during arrests. If those vehicles weren't claimed, the towing firm, through its sales subsidiary, sold them.

Police revealed that the firm allowed many officers to borrow the vehicles, sometimes for weeks or months at a time. Also allowed to borrow them, and to buy three of them allegedly for less than their wholesale value, was Mokwa's daughter, Aimie Mokwa.

Mokwa previously said his daughter, in her mid-30s, has struggled for years with emotional problems and substance abuse. While he expressed compassion for her personal struggles, he said he did nothing to help her gain use of a car through S&H.

Then, Goodson said earlier this week that Mokwa didn't disclose to investigators that he knew his daughter had gotten free use of several cars from the company. Mokwa only revealed it over the weekend, after the investigation was closed.

On Friday, the board offered Mokwa a separation package that all but Mayor Francis Slay voted to support.

Goodson said Mokwa will receive a year's salary, or a payment of about $100,000, and receive his earned retirement benefits. Assistant Chief Stephen Pollihan, who has 36 years with the department, was named acting chief.

Mokwa had been chief for seven years.

Goodson said the past week has been difficult for the chief, police officers and city residents. He cited several accomplishments under Mokwa's watch and credited Mokwa with having a personality that created "strong goodwill" in the community.

The mayor, in a separate news conference, called himself a "Joe Mokwa supporter for a number of years" and said he feared he may have lost his friendship due to recent events. The mayor said he had spoken with Mokwa's lawyer a few days ago, and had said he thought it was an appropriate time for the chief to retire.

He said while overall crime is falling in the city, murders are on the rise. He said there are divisions within the police department and the community, and said the chief's retirement was the right course. "The city did not need a distracted police chief," Slay said.

The new chief will be selected from within the upper ranks of St. Louis' police department. Goodson said the board would offer no timetable for selecting a candidate.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)