Former Columbus Zoo CEO Tom Stalf will be sentenced over white-collar crime questions

Tom Stalf has been called the ringleader of the $2.3 million theft scandal at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, if only because he was the CEO who had influence and control over the actions of his subordinates.

Instead of being a person with integrity and a strong moral compass, prosecutors say, he betrayed confidence in his position and encouraged those who worked for him to do the same, in some cases forcing employees to participate or risk him to be fired. He pleaded guilty in July to 15 charges, including aggravated robbery, tampering with case counts, telecommunications fraud and conspiracy.

On Monday morning, Stalf will become the fourth of five former zoo employees to be sentenced in Delaware County Common Pleas Court as questions remain about their punishment. Too tough on white-collar crime? Or not serious enough for the theft of public funds from a beloved Ohio institution?

Former Chief Financial Officer Greg Bell has already been sentenced to three years in prison. Former purchasing director Tracy Murnane was sentenced to three years of community control and 60 days in jail, half of which he will be allowed to serve. Bell’s son, who worked in the business office, was given community control without jail or prison.

However, Stalf and former marketing director Pete Fingerhut are considered the masterminds, accused of running a criminal enterprise to hijack the zoo’s resources and conspiring to cover up their crimes.

Should they serve more time and pay more restitution than their former colleagues?

Delaware County judge will consider a variety of factors in sentencing, Ohio law professor says

Joint pleas in Delaware County Judge David Gormley will decide, weighing their remorse, cooperation with prosecutors and a list of mitigating and aggravating factors.

“Society has rightly responded to these crimes,” said Douglas A. Berman, a law professor at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. “These are people who knew better that they were charging and imposing costs on an individual or a community.”

While some may favor harsh sentences, others, including judges, may consider the complexity of the crime and the details provided in an investigative report submitted to the court but not shared with the public.

Judges may consider the public humiliation, lost wages and reputation as punishment, Berman said.

‘You’ve already learned that crime doesn’t pay. You’re broke. You have already suffered financially by pocketing money that was not yours,” he said. “Figuring out how much punishment will be the challenge.”

Berman said there are other forms of punishment besides prison or restitution “that could help the community believe this is justice, but that keep the sanctions in mind for future offenders and can help provide an additional deterrent effect for others.” create.”

So-called “shameful sanctions” could be as effective as prison, by ordering those convicted to educate the public about their crimes, perform community service or counsel inmates, Berman said.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs evaluates shameful sanctions based on how the public perceives them, whether they symbolize viable alternatives to incarceration or whether they stigmatize and shame or provide opportunities for moral and social rehabilitation. integration and eventual rehabilitation of the perpetrator.

What did prosecutors accuse former Columbus Zoo officials of?

According to last year’s indictment, the crimes occurred between 2011 and the end of 2021.

Among the crimes prosecutors accused Stalf and his associates of in the indictment were:

• Stalf himself used zoo credit cards to purchase thousands of dollars worth of country club memberships, food and alcohol, and other goods and services for himself and his family, then forged authorization forms to cover his crimes. Stalf stole bottles of alcohol and beer from the zoo’s warehouse for parties at his home.

• At Huntington Park, Nationwide Arena and Schottenstein Center alone, Stalf and his colleagues spent $1.8 million in zoo funds on personal expenses and events for themselves and their friends and family.

• Stalf used the zoo’s since-discontinued barter system to attend a World Series, purchase luxury bicycles, limousine rides and a vacation in Florida.

• Over several years, the zoo spent more than $80,000 renovating a zoo-owned property that Stalf would eventually rent to family members at a deep discount.

• “Family members basically made a list like a child makes a Christmas list of events to attend,” last year’s indictment said. To achieve this, money was laundered, invoices changed and documents destroyed.

The lawyer wonders who is to blame for the $2.3 million theft scandal

“If you are the head of an organization, and there is a power dynamic … and you foster a culture that encourages theft, then it is fair to conclude that you are more guilty than those who employ you,” said lawyer Sam Shamansky, whose client, former zoo Chief Financial Officer Greg Bell, was the first to plead guilty to all charges and agree to cooperate. He started with a three-year prison sentence. “Those who receive a greater reward are often perceived as more guilty.”

Shamansky notes, however, that as heinous as the crimes seem, the zoo has recovered financially.

“It’s not a large amount of money percentage-wise,” he noted, comparing the $2.3 million loss to an operating budget of more than $80 million. “The zoo marches on.”

What worries him equally is what he called lax oversight by the zoo board.

“They were sleeping on the couch. … It is (their) job to look at every check and every decision. This wasn’t just surveillance. They are complicit,” Shamansky said of the board, which has since been modified in size and responsibility at the urging of provincial and municipal officials.

As for Stalf, Shamansky said there is a “magic number” of years he and his attorney should expect to serve.

“If he gets five years, he can’t be released until he serves four. If he gets nine, he can’t apply for release until he serves five.”

Peter Fingerhut, the zoo’s former marketing director, will be sentenced on October 28.

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This article originally appeared in The Columbus Dispatch: Former Columbus Zoo CEO to be sentenced Oct. 14 in Delaware County