Gluttonous Spending Spree

When was the last time you went to a zoo? I love the Zoo but haven’t been in a long time. When I saw this crime involving a Zoo—I had to share. The Zoo is big with 2 million guests every year and is home to over 600 species from around the world.

What do you have when you have a marketing director, a CEO, a CFO, a director of purchasing, and a purchasing assistant join forces to get rich? What you don’t have is millions of dollars to run the zoo!

Yes, they were all in cahoots and collectively stole $2.3 million from the zoo over a ten-year period. The other defendants in this case said the ex-marketing director was “the ticket master.” He tampered with records, and using the organization’s funds, he secured suite tickets to concerts and sporting events for himself and his cohorts to enjoy.

As the mastermind in the scheme, the ex-marketing director and his wife traveled to Hungary, Germany, Austria, Auckland, Queenstown, New Zealand, the Galapagos Islands, Switzerland, and Italy. So brazen, he never reported the value of the trips as taxable income.

The zoo board noticed some suspicious credit card usages by top executives, which led to the discovery of the fraud.

All charged in this extensive public corruption case opted to accept a plea agreement rather than go to trial. Their sentences follow:

The 66-year-old ex-marketing director, a.k.a. “the ticket master” pleaded guilty to 16 felonies. A judge sentenced him to five years in prison, pay over $600,000 in restitution to the state and the IRS.

An Attorney General associated with the cases said about “the ticket master,”

“[The ticket master] caused his own downfall by creating a culture of self-indulgence instead of public service.”

A different Attorney General also associated with the cases, said about the ticket master’s actions,

“Gluttonous spending spree on the backs of zoo donors, taxpayers and customers.”

The 56-year-old ex-CEO pleaded guilty to 15 felonies, sentenced to seven years in prison, pay over $300,000 in restitution besides the $400,000 he already paid.

The 65-year-old ex-CFO pleaded guilty to 14 felonies, sentenced to three years in prison, pay over $500,000 in restitution.

The 65-year-old ex-purchasing agent pleaded guilty to six felonies, sentenced to 60 days in jail, three years of probation, pay over $100,000 in restitution.

The 34-year-old ex-purchasing assistant pleaded guilty to one fifth-degree felony, sentenced to two years of probation, pay over $8,000 in restitution.

Source: Ohio Attorney General, The Columbus Dispatch

All data and information provided is for information and research purposes only and not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual. Criminal cases may have been appealed or verdicts overturned since I researched the case. All information is provided on an as-is basis.