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Former Chief Executive Officer Tom Stalf and former Marketing Director Pete Fingerhut are accused of operating a criminal enterprise to hijack the zoo’s purse strings and colluding to conceal their thievery. Also indicted was former Chief Financial Officer Greg Bell, who is alleged to have become ensnared in the wrongdoing. The indictment alleges that the former executives manipulated credit-card and check authorization forms for more than a decade, using the nonprofit’s public funds for personal use. The Columbus Zoo receives about $19 million in taxes annually from Franklin County residents. The stolen money was spent on lavish non-zoo related items, including suites and tickets to concerts and sporting events; golf memberships; trips to multiple states and foreign countries; meals, beverages and alcohol; and motor vehicles.

A former Columbus Zoo and Aquarium executive pleaded guilty this afternoon for his role in a scheme to defraud the zoo and the public of more than $2.29 million, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced. Greg Bell, the zoo’s former chief financial officer, pleaded guilty in Delaware County Common Pleas Court to all 14 felony charges he faced, including aggravated theft, conspiracy and tampering with records.

Here is what happened this week in Van Wert County Common Pleas Court.