COLUMBUS, Ohio — The former CFO for the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium was sentenced to three years in prison Monday for charges connected to a $2.2 million fraud case.
Greg Bell was indicted on 12 counts of tampering with evidence and one count each of aggravated theft and conspiracy last year. Bell pleaded guilty to those charges and agreed to fully cooperate in the investigation.
Bell apologized for his actions during his sentencing hearing Monday afternoon. In a prepared statement, Bell said that he realized what he did was inappropriate. He said he deeply regrets what happened and takes full responsibility.
“The zoo was a major part of my life for over 29 years. I realize my actions hurt the reputation of one of the greatest zoological parks in the world. The zoo put a great deal of trust in me and I failed them. I should have stepped up and turned people in,” Bell said.
In addition to the prison time, Delaware County Common Pleas Judge David Gormley ordered Bell to pay $583,697.44 in criminal restitution. Bell previously agreed to pay separate civil restitution to the zoo.
Bell’s attorney Sam Shamansky said he believed the sentence was fair.
“To me, it seems you should be very appropriately rewarded for recognizing the errors of your ways and helping solve cases. That’s all I can say,” he said.
Assistant Attorney General Daniel Kasaris said Bell’s cooperation in helping to piece together the crimes helped secure the guilty pleas of the other defendants.
“He also even admitted crimes that we didn’t know about and probably wouldn’t know about,” he said.
Bell was one of four executives charged in an investigation into the zoo's misuse of funds and resources.
Former CEO Tom Stalf, Bell, former Director of Marketing Pete Fingerhut and former Director of Purchasing Tracy Murnane were accused of using zoo assets to pay for personal items such as sporting events, concert tickets, electronics and other goods.
In addition, Bell allegedly let family members live in houses controlled by the zoo and got them tickets for entertainment events.
In 2021, the former employees misused zoo resources and lost more than $630,000. Bell is responsible for losing at least $139,000. An investigation revealed that the crimes took place between 2011 and 2021 and resulted in the theft of approximately $2.29 million.
Bell's son, Grant, also pleaded guilty to one count of theft in the fraud investigation. Grant was a former purchasing agent who worked closely with Murnane. He is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 23.
Stalf, Fingerhut and Murnane have all pleaded guilty to charges in the investigation. They're all scheduled to be sentenced within the next two months.