Ohio AG Yost to investigate zoo; two top officials resign

COLUMBUS — The office of Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost is launching an investigation into the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium after a report by The Dispatch uncovered the personal use of zoo assets by two top officials.

Tom Stalf, who has led the zoo as CEO since 2013, and Greg Bell, chief financial officer, resigned Monday.

The Attorney General’s Office’s Charitable Law Section regulates nonprofits in Ohio and has the independent authority to initiate investigations.

“Charity may begin at home for an individual, but it’s trouble when an executive for a charitable organization uses company resources for friends and family,” Yost said in a news release Thursday, announcing the investigation. “I’m troubled by both the allegations and the lack of transparency here, and this office will get to the bottom of it.”

Sam Shamansky, Bell’s attorney, said Yost’s inquiry was “not surprising, given the attention that the zoo has recently received in the media.”

“My client has been fully cooperative and intends to so remain,” Shamansky said.

Stalf, the zoo’s spokeswoman and the chairman of the zoo’s board of directors, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Thursday.

Stalf, 52, and Bell, 61, allowed relatives to live in houses owned or controlled by the zoo, and sought zoo tickets for their family members to attend various entertainment events, a Dispatch investigation found.

The zoo is a taxpayer-supported nonprofit organization.

Questions from The Dispatch sparked an internal review by the zoo’s board of directors in March. A committee of board members then recommended hiring outside counsel to investigate, and the board hired Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP to conduct the review.

Board of directors chairman Keith Shumate told The Dispatch on Tuesday that the first phase of the review, focused on the allegations surrounding Stalf and Bell, is complete. The next phase, which includes evaluating the zoo’s policies, procedures and practices, continues, he said.

Zoo officials said they will not be sharing details of the investigation, though Franklin County commissioners have called on them to release the results.

Investigations conducted by the Charitable Law Section are confidential and Ohio law excludes investigations of charitable trusts from public records.

Paul Nick, executive director of the Ohio Ethics Commission, said it is also considering an investigation into Stalf and Bell, but is still trying to determine whether the zoo, which is both a nonprofit and taxpayer-supported, falls under its jurisdiction.

The commission investigates potential violations of state law related to the misuse and abuse of public offices, including conflicts of interest.