Former Columbus Zoo executives indicted on Monday. Here's a look at the investigation
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The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium lost its accreditation in 2021 after a Dispatch investigation found the zoo lost hundreds of thousands of dollars because of misspending by former officials.
On Monday, Attorney General Dave Yost announced indictments in the case.
Three former Columbus Zoo and Aquarium executives were named Monday in a 90-count indictment, including multiple felony counts of theft, bribery and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.
Yost said that Thomas E. Stalf, former CEO; Peter A. Fingerhut, former marketing director and Gregory A. Bell, former CFO "extorted, conspired, bribed and stole," while colluding with each other before The Dispatch uncovered wrongdoing by the executives in 2021. The trio is responsible for more than $2.2 million in lost funds.
Here's a look back at the investigation, dating back to 2021.
Yost: 'The Bank hired the robbers to do security' on ex- zoo executives indicted Monday
Yost said if any of the trio of indicted executives had done the right thing, the scheme to violate the public trust would never have happened.
"This required three people who worked together," Yost said.
Read the full indictment
You can find the full indictment against the former Columbus zoo executives here.
New agreement puts problem-plagued Columbus Zoo under one board on tighter financial leash
From April 3, 2023: Franklin County and the city of Columbus have quietly put in place a new agreement that will eliminate one of two boards with oversight over the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, changes the make-up of the remaining board and ensures better financial accountability.
The new memorandum of understanding agreement puts the zoo on a tighter financial leash by requiring the nonprofit Columbus Zoological Park Association to provide the county with all "necessary information to assure (taxpayer levy funds) are used appropriately," according to the agreement.
Columbus Zoo regains accreditation nearly 18 months after it was revoked by AZA
From March 27, 2023: The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has regained accreditation with the industry's top accrediting body nearly 18 months after it was revoked.
The Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) granted the Columbus Zoo accreditation following an inspection in December, the zoo announced.
Former Columbus Zoo CEO Tom Stalf to pay back $400,000; attorney says he was 'scapegoat'
From March 22, 2022: Former Columbus Zoo and Aquarium CEO Tom Stalf has agreed to pay back $400,000 after investigations last year found that he and other top officials misused zoo resources, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses for the taxpayer-supported nonprofit.
The zoo board of directors unanimously approved the settlement Friday morning, chairman Keith Shumate said.
Stalf agreed to pay back the money so that he could move forward with his life, according to his attorney, Rex Elliott. But the zoo was well aware of Stalf's actions and has made him a scapegoat, the attorney said.
Former employee agrees to repay Columbus Zoo after funds were misused
From Jan. 12, 2022: The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and its former chief financial officer have reached an agreement to repay the zoo after he and other executives were found to have misused zoo resources, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses for the taxpayer-supported nonprofit.
Former zoo CFO Greg Bell has agreed to repay the zoo $132,000, board Chairman Keith Shumate said. The board approved the settlement with Bell at a special meeting Wednesday, Shumate said.
Columbus Zoo loses accreditation over animal program, leadership issues, but plans appeal
From Oct. 6, 2021: The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has lost its accreditation with its industry's top accrediting body amid concerns regarding its acquisition of animals and inappropriate business practices by the zoo's former leaders.
Zoo officials announced that they plan to appeal the decision by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), the top accrediting body for zoos and aquariums in the United States and a dozen other countries.
New Columbus Zoo leader Tom Schmid seeks to regain community's trust
From Oct. 5, 2021: In his more than 20 years leading the Texas State Aquarium, Tom Schmid grew accustomed to calls from recruiters about open positions in the somewhat small and specialized zoo and aquarium industry.
And each time, he told them the same thing: “I love what I do, I love the community I live in in South Texas,” said Schmid, who has the been the president and CEO of the aquarium in Corpus Christi since 1999.
But when Schmid, 58, received a call about the opportunity to lead the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, he knew his usual answer would no longer suffice.
“It was something that I had never expected, and I was immediately drawn to it,” Schmid told The Dispatch.
Columbus Zoo and Aquarium lost at least $631,000 because of misspending by former officials
Aug. 19, 2021: Misspending and questionable business practices by former executives cost the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium at least $631,000, according to new documents obtained by The Dispatch.
Zoo assets were used improperly for executives' personal items, including concert tickets, golf memberships, Amazon purchases, satellite radio subscriptions and vehicles, according to the forensic audit reports compiled for the zoo by Plante Moran accounting firm.
Investigators said they were conservative in their estimate, only totaling financial losses they could substantiate, but the zoo likely incurred additional losses that they could not quantify.
Columbus Zoo investigation: CEO used zoo money personally, failed to bid construction project at The Wilds
From April 6, 2021: Former Columbus Zoo and Aquarium President and CEO Tom Stalf used zoo funds to purchase a recreational vehicle for his exclusive use and took it to Put-in-Bay for a family trip, according to an investigation by a law firm hired by the zoo's board of directors.
Stalf also personally selected the vendor for a $2 million construction project at The Wilds for cabins and did not seek competitive bidding. The company billed the zoo a "substantial cost overrun," which Stalf instructed former Chief Financial Officer Greg Bell to pay, circumventing normal accounting processes. The firm is investigating if there were any personal benefits associated with the contract.
And at Stalf's direction, the zoo also paid for renovations totaling $18,000 to $28,000 to homes owned or controlled by the zoo, which Stalf and Bell allowed their relatives to live in for years, witnesses told the firm.
Columbus Zoo: Top officials resign following Dispatch investigation
From March 29, 2021: The top two executives of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium have resigned after an investigation by The Dispatch into their personal use of zoo assets.
Tom Stalf, who has led the zoo as CEO since 2013, and Greg Bell, chief financial officer, both stepped down, according to an internal email sent to zoo staff Monday from the zoo's board of directors chairman Keith Shumate.
Columbus Zoo reviewing use of zoo-owned houses for family of executives
March 5, 2021: Top Columbus Zoo and Aquarium executives have allowed relatives to live in houses owned or controlled by the zoo, and sought tickets for their family members to attend various entertainment events, a Dispatch investigation found.
For several years, President and CEO Tom Stalf's in-laws rented a home that had been donated to the zoo, and Chief Financial Officer Greg Bell's daughter is a tenant of another home controlled by the zoo. The properties were never advertised for rent or offered to outsiders or other zoo employees, The Dispatch learned.
Questions by The Dispatch about the personal use of zoo resources have sparked an internal review by the zoo’s board of directors.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former Columbus Zoo executives have been indicted. Here's what we know
