Zoo director named ‘most egregious’ criminal sentenced to prison for role in $2.3 million theft

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

In addition to prison, Delaware County Common Pleas Judge David Gormley ordered restitution in the amount of $639,297 and a fine of $10,000 from Peter Fingerhut, former marketing director of the zoo. Fingerhut will be eligible to apply for judicial relief in four years.

Defense lawyer Diane Menashe told Gormley that her client was less culpable than others in the scandal and that Fingerhut had expressed remorse, in part because of his work for the past year at the GetGo marketplace and gas station in Dublin.

“I dare say that to take up such a job is to fall into disgrace,” said Menashe, who asked for a sentence of less than five years. “He was literally filling the shelves at the grocery store.”

Fingerhut, 66, wept openly, telling Gormley: “I make no excuses for the crimes I committed.” The charges included aggravated theft, conspiracy, document tampering, telecommunications fraud and document falsification.

“I know for a fact that I will continue to do the right thing and show the community day after day that I am more than just the facts in this case.”

Along with his boss, former CEO Tom Stalf, Fingerhut was believed to be the mastermind behind a decade-long theft spree. Known as “The Ticketmaster”, Fingerhut entered into contracts for himself and his family for VIP tickets to sports and entertainment venues for zoo promotional purposes. According to Daniel Kasaris, Ohio’s attorney general, he “commanded” luxury boxes at the Schottenstein Center, Nationwide Arena and other venues.

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

Kasaris also called Fingerhut a liar, who, unlike other convicted zoo workers, cooperated with the authorities and showed remorse.

In May 2023, when Fingerhut was interviewed by state officials, he repeatedly lied to investigators about the theft and cover-up, even though the auditor and Ohio attorney general had evidence to the contrary.

“When given the opportunity to come clean about his conduct, (Fingerhut) chose to lie to investigators and continue to cover up his crime,” according to Kasaris’ sentencing memorandum, calling his crimes a “voracious spending spree on the back end of the zoo” to donors, taxpayers and customers. “

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

In August, Greg Bell, the former chief financial officer, was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to repay $583,697 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 intended for the zoo.

Last month, Tracy Murnane, a former purchasing executive, was sentenced to six months in prison and $90,000 in restitution, which was also repaid.

In 2018, zoo management became aware of suspicious use of credit cards by top executives, which led to the discovery of ticket deals with the Nationwide Arena, Schottenstein Center and the Dublin Irish Festival that included VIP tickets, food and alcohol. The Management Board terminated these contracts.

However, Fingerhut used the zoo’s advertising agency to maintain the contracts, and therefore contractual expenses bypassed the zoo and were instead billed as advertising expenses.

The zoo’s philanthropy department was unaware of the contracts. And entertaining donors in such places was not part of their fundraising strategy.

Nicolle Gomez Racey, Fingerhut’s deputy as chief marketing officer, said that Fingerhut “knew his actions were wrong, so he covered them up and lied… It was a crime against the values ​​of the Columbus Zoo.”

According to sentencing details provided to the judge, between 2015 and 2019, the zoo spent a large portion of its advertising budget on The Dispatch Media Group and WBNS. The companies offered incentive travel packages to the zoo and other advertisers for meeting 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; 2016 9-day trip to Auckland and Queenstown, New Zealand worth $12,735 per person; and a 2017 trip to the Galapagos Islands valued at $13,000 per person.

In 2019, the couple went on a nine-day trip to Switzerland and Italy worth $12,000 per person. Dispatch and WBNS sent letters to the zoo to file its tax returns, but Fingerhut never reported the value of the trips as taxable income.

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Former zoo director Peter Fingerhut is sent to prison for his role in a theft scandal