The report recommended that the Columbus Zoo undertake an audit to find out how much Stalf and Bell might owe the zoo in reimbursement funds. The law firm said they are still examining whether Bell or Stalf personally benefitted from that. The accounting process for the bid was done by Bell, rather than through proper channels. The report said that Stalf awarded a $2 million construction contract for work to a company he chose without going through the competitive bidding process. Stalf also used an RV paid for by the zoo to take him and his family to Put-In-Bay, an island in Lake Erie. Bell’s daughter left the house last month when the investigation opened. It was never offered to zoo employees or advertised to the public, the report found. Bell rented one of the houses to a friend of his daughter’s and she also eventually moved in. Stalf and Bell did not reimburse the zoo, the report said.īoth Stalf and Bell arranged for their relatives to live in houses owned by the zoo, the investigation uncovered. Bell admitted to obtaining 60 tickets to Blue Jackets’ games for his son and his friends. Stalf, according to the report, said he used a suite only one time. Nicolle Gomez Racey also said that the zoo will cooperate with an investigation opened Thursday by Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.Īccording to the investigation’s findings, the two former executives personally used suites procured and paid for by the zoo at Ohio State basketball games and Columbus Blue Jackets’ hockey games.
A spokesperson for the zoo said in an emailed statement that the board has “engaged a forensic auditor to delve into questions” beyond this initial investigation.
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