Credit Columbus Zoo And Aquarium
Ohio’s top law enforcer placed one of the nation’s largest zoos under investigation Thursday after a newspaper reported misuse of assets by two top executives who later resigned.
Republican Attorney General Dave Yost placed his office’s Charitable Law Section in charge of the probe targeting the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, a 501(c)3 nonprofit located in the Columbus suburb of Powell. Its animal population is ranked second largest among U.S. zoos.
An email to the zoo seeking comment was not immediately returned.
Yost’s action was prompted by a Columbus Dispatch investigation that uncovered apparent improprieties by Tom Stalf, then president and CEO, and Greg Bell, then chief financial officer. The newspaper reported that Stalf, 52, and Bell, 61, allowed relatives to live in houses owned or controlled by the zoo and sought tickets for family members to zoo entertainment events.