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Final report on Columbus Zoo leadership theft released
Final report on Columbus Zoo leadership theft released

Yahoo

time14-05-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Final report on Columbus Zoo leadership theft released

POWELL, Ohio (WCMH) — The Ohio Auditor of State released the final report from the investigation into the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, more than four years after news first broke about top executives stealing $2.3 million from the zoo. The special audit into the zoo led to the convictions and prison sentences for five former zoo leaders who used zoo money for personal purchases for ten years. Ohio's power grid operator warns of potential power shortages this summer The executives paid for suite tickets for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Ohio State games, 2016 World Series tickets, One Direction concert tickets, vacations to Florida and limo services. The final report included emails from the executives showing how they attempted to conceal the purchases by saying they were to entertain zoo donors and board members. For their roles in the $2.3 million theft, former CEO Tom Stalf was sentenced to seven years in prison, former CFO Greg Bell received three years in prison and the former Director of Marketing Pete Fingerhut got five years behind bars. Combined, the men are paying back nearly $1.5 million in restitution. The other two executives involved, Grant Bell and Tracy Murnane, received little to no jail time and are paying back much less in restitution. New 'The Office' spinoff series to be set in Ohio Ohio Auditor Keith Faber said current zoo leadership and the board of directors have made changes to make sure fraud like this does not happen again. 'This is a cautionary tale for everybody,' Faber said. 'Being on a nonprofit board is not just a ceremonial position. You get to just rubber stamp what the executives do. You have a real oversight role.' The CEO of the Columbus Zoo, Tom Schmid, said the zoo is now focused on oversight for leaders and transparency. There is an ethics hotline for anonymous reporting, documentation on all transactions, a reduction in spending limits, and personal purchases are now prohibited. 'It's a new day, we have new leadership in place, we have a more engaged board of directors, we have dozens of new policies and procedures. I can assure you, under my watch, that this will not happen again,' Schmid said. Faber said these new safeguards will better protect the zoo. A rare wildflower that is only known to grow naturally in Ohio blooms in May 'I have confidence that the people of Ohio can say that the zoo has put its past behind it and has a structure in place that is going to make it much more difficult for somebody to lie, cheat, and steal and get away with it at the zoo,' Faber said. Faber added that the previous Board of Directors should have noticed something was off with former leadership's spending. The final report from the auditor included prevention recommendations to the zoo, and Faber said almost every recommendation has been followed. The full report is available to read by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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