The indictments come after four former zoo employees were accused of losing more than $630,000 and misusing zoo resources in 2021.
DELAWARE COUNTY, Ohio — One of the three former Columbus Zoo and Aquarium executives accused of misusing funds and resources pleaded guilty on Thursday.on 12 counts of tampering with evidence and one count each of aggravated theft and conspiracy. Bell pleaded guilty to those charges.
The zoo's former CEO Tom Stalf and former director of marketing Pete Fingerhut were also indicted last month. According to the indictment, the former executives manipulated credit card and check authorization forms for more than a decade, using the nonprofit’s public funds for personal use. According to a report from 2021, Stalf, Bell, Fingerhut and former Director of Purchasing Tracy Murnane used zoo assets to pay for personal items such as sporting events, concert tickets, electronics and other goods.
In addition, Bell allegedly let family members live in houses controlled by the zoo and got them tickets for entertainment events. The former employees allegedly lost more than $630,000 and misusing zoo resources in 2021. Bell is responsible for losing at least $139,000. An investigation revealed that the crimes allegedly took place between 2011 and 2021 and resulted in the theft of approximately $2.29 million., according to the zoo. Zoo officials confirmed in March 2022 that the Board of Directors approved a $400,000 settlement with Stalf.
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