DELAWARE COUNTY, Ohio — A former Columbus Zoo and Aquarium executive accused of misusing funds and resources took a plea agreement and pleaded guilty in a Delaware County court on Tuesday.
Former Director of Marketing Pete Fingerhut initially pleaded not guilty in October 2023 to 62 felony charges and one misdemeanor charge.
He filed documents last week with the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas indicating that he would be changing his plea.
In court on Tuesday, Fingerhut pleaded guilty to 16 felony counts and one misdemeanor. The charges include one count of aggravated theft, one count of conspiracy, 11 counts of tampering with records, three counts of telecommunications fraud and one count of falsification.
He will be sentenced on Sept. 23. As part of the plea agreement, Fingerhut will pay more than $675,000 in restitution.
Former Columbus Zoo CEO Tom Stalf, former CFO Greg Bell and former Director of Purchasing Tracy Murnane were also charged in connection with the investigation launched by the state.
On Oct. 19, 2023, Bell pleaded guilty to 14 felony charges, including aggravated theft, conspiracy and tampering with records. Bell will be sentenced after his co-defendant’s cases conclude.
Less than one week later, Stalf pleaded not guilty to 36 felony charges. His charges include one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, two counts of aggravated theft, two counts of bribery, one count of conspiracy, six counts of money laundering, 22 counts of tampering with records and two counts of telecommunications fraud. His trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 6.
Murnane was charged with six felonies, including one count of grand theft, two counts of forgery and one count of telecommunications fraud. He will be arraigned on July 8.
According to an indictment filed last year, the former executives manipulated credit card and check authorization forms for more than a decade, using the nonprofit’s public funds for personal use.
One instance referenced by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost alleged that zoo tickets were exchanged for tickets to Game 6 of the 2016 World Series. On another occasion, Fingerhut is accused of threatening harm to a vendor’s business opportunities with the zoo unless he was paid large sums of cash.
The former employees were accused in 2021 of losing the zoo more than $630,000 and misusing zoo resources. The investigation revealed that the crimes allegedly took place between 2011 and 2021 and resulted in the theft of approximately $2.29 million.
According to a report, Stalf, Bell, Fingerhut and Murnane used their positions "to blatantly ignore established policies and use a system among themselves to utilize Zoo resources for their personal advantage."
The zoo said the four former officials' actions resulted in the following losses, totaling $631,651:
- Stalf is responsible for $423,049.00 in losses, plus interest
- Bell is responsible for $138,889.00 in losses, plus interest
- Fingerhut is responsible for $56,981.00 in losses, plus interest
- Murnane is responsible for $12,732.00 in losses, plus interest
In January 2022, the Zoo board approved a financial settlement with Bell and Murmane who agreed to pay back a total of $143,000. This was done in an attempt to compensate for each man's losses. Bell agreed to repay the zoo $132,000 and Murnane agreed to pay $11,000.
Two months later, Zoo officials confirmed that the Board of Directors approved a $400,000 settlement with Stalf.