In Ohio, former Columbus Zoo CEO Tom Stalf was sentenced to seven years in prison for embezzlement of nearly $2.3 million. Stalf pled guilty to 15 felony charges, including tampering with records, theft by deception, and telecommunication fraud.
Stalf agreed to pay $315,572.65 in restitution.
Four other former zoo officials also pled guilty and received various sentences and were ordered to pay restitution.
According to the source:
Stalf and other Zoo executives were accused of using their positions to attend sporting events, offer housing to family and other personal uses. Stalf, who was originally facing 36 total charges, was specifically accused of using Zoo funds to purchase a personal RV for $45,000. https://www.wowktv.com/news/ohio/former-columbus-zoo-ceo-sentenced-to-prison-in-2-3-million-fraud-case (Oct. 14, 2024).
Commentary
What makes the Columbus Zoo embezzlement different from so many other losses is the number of executives implicated. All the accused have pled guilty to crimes. A few still await sentencing. Here are the names and amounts stolen:
- Tom Stalf - $315,572.65
- Pete Fingerhut - $675,572.65
- Greg Bell - $583,697.44
- Tracy Murnane - $101,000
- Grant Bell - $8,554.61
In this matter, the corruption was throughout the C-Suite. Stalf was the CEO. Bell was the CFO. Fingerhut was the marketing director.
The specific allegations were described by another source:
An investigation into the misuse of funds by two of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium's top leaders alleges those men used their positions to attend sporting events in Columbus and Cincinnati, offer housing to family, and award a $2 million no-bid contract for construction at The Wilds. https://www.nbc4i.com/news/investigates/despite-promise-columbus-zoo-officials-yet-to-deliver-results-of-investigation-into-misuse-of-funds/ (Apr. 06. 2021).
Board oversight was lacking. Had there been reasonable oversight, the no-bid contract would have flagged a review. The tickets to sport suites and the tickets for personal use without reimbursement are also large red flags, but without oversight and governance, the losses continued to stack up.
The final takeaway is that a culture of embezzlement can quickly be established especially in the C-Suite, unless governance and oversight are applied.
