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Former Columbus Zoo Director Peter Fingerhut Convicted in Theft Scandal

Umito October 30, 2024

The last of five former Columbus Zoo and Aquarium employees was sentenced Monday to five years in prison, ending a four-year investigation into a nearly $2.3 million theft scheme as well as to legal maneuvers and prison sentences for the zoo’s top executives.

In addition to jail time, Delaware County Common Pleas Judge David Gormley ordered restitution of $639,297 and a $10,000 fine to Peter Fingerhut, the zoo’s former marketing director. Fingerhut will be eligible for judicial release in four years.

Defense attorney Diane Menashe told Gormley that her client was less culpable than others in the scandal and that Fingerhut was remorseful, in part from working last year at the GetGo Market and gas station in Dublin.

“I dare say that accepting this level of work is a disgrace,” said Menashe, who had asked for a sentence of less than five years. “It literally filled the shelves of a convenience store.”

Fingerhut, 66, wept openly as he told Gormley, “I make no excuses for the crimes I committed.” The charges included aggravated robbery, conspiracy, falsification of records, telecommunications fraud and falsification of documents.

“What I am sure of is that I will continue to do the right thing and show the community day in and day out that I am more than the facts of this case.”

Alongside his boss, former CEO Tom Stalf, Fingerhut was considered the mastermind of a decade-long theft spree. Known as “The Ticketmaster,” Fingerhut set up VIP ticket deals for himself and his family at sports and entertainment venues for promotional use of the zoo. He “commandeered” luxury boxes at the Schottenstein Center, Nationwide Arena and other venues, according to Daniel Kasaris, special prosecutor for the Ohio attorney general.

Kasaris called Fingerhut’s role “the most egregious, heinous and cavalier of all the defendants.”

Kasaris also called Fingerhut a liar who, unlike other already convicted zoo employees, cooperated with authorities and showed contrition.

In May 2023, when state officials questioned Fingerhut, he repeatedly lied to investigators about the theft and cover-ups, despite the auditor and Ohio attorney general having evidence to the contrary, a Kasaris said.

“When given the opportunity to tell the truth about his conduct, (Fingerhut) chose to lie to investigators and continue to cover up his crime,” according to Kasaris’ sentencing memo, calling Fungerhut’s crimes “greedy spending spree at the expense of the zoo”. donors, taxpayers and customers.

Earlier this month, Stalf, the former CEO, was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $315,573 in addition to the $400,000 already paid to the zoo by his former employer, Germain Motor Company.

In August, Greg Bell, a former chief financial officer, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay $583,697 in restitution, which he had already paid. His son, Grant Bell, who worked in purchasing, received two years of community control and $8,554 in restitution for accepting goods and services for the zoo.

And last month, Tracy Murnane, a former purchasing manager, was sentenced to six months in prison and ordered to pay restitution of $90,000, which was also repaid.

In 2018, the zoo’s board became aware of suspicious credit card use by senior executives, leading to the discovery of the ticket deals with Nationwide Arena, Schottenstein Center and Dublin Irish Festival, which included VIP tickets, food and alcohol. The board of directors terminated these contracts.

But Fingerhut used the zoo’s advertising agency to maintain contracts, with contract expenses bypassing the zoo and being billed as advertising expenses.

The zoo’s philanthropic department was unaware of these contracts. And entertaining donors at such venues was not part of their fundraising strategies.

Nicolle Gomez Racey, Fingerhut’s replacement as marketing director, said Fingerhut “knew his actions were wrong, he covered them up and he lied.” … This was a crime against the values of the Columbus Zoo.

From 2015 to 2019, the zoo spent much of its advertising budget with The Dispatch Media Group and WBNS, according to sentencing details provided to the judge. The companies offered incentivized travel packages to the zoo and other advertisers to meet annual spending thresholds.

Fingerhut and his wife have participated every year, including a 2015 river cruise to Hungary, Austria and Germany, worth $8,525 per person; a nine-day trip to Auckland and Queenstown, New Zealand, in 2016, worth $12,735 per person; and a 2017 trip to the Galapagos Islands, worth $13,000 per person.

In 2019, the couple took a nine-day trip to Switzerland and Italy, worth $12,000 per person. The Dispatch and WBNS sent letters to the zoo for tax reporting purposes, but Fingerhut never reported the value of the trips as taxable income.

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