Fourth former Columbus Zoo executive accused of stealing nearly $2.3 million

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A former Columbus Zoo official has been accused of stealing nearly $2.3 million over a 10-year period.

Tracy Murnane, 65, of Westerville, is the fourth former Columbus Zoo employee criminally charged with felony theft-related offenses as part of an ongoing criminal prosecution led by the attorney general’s special prosecution section.

Murnane, a former purchasing agent for the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, was charged with six total felonies, including grand theft, telecommunications fraud, complicity in the commission of an offense, filing incomplete, false and fraudulent tax returns and two counts of forgery.

The charges are contained in a bill of information filed in Delaware County Common Pleas Court. A bill of information is a formal accusation of a crime issued by a prosecutor and presented to a defendant; it serves the same function as an indictment issued by a grand jury in felony cases.

The bill of information states that Murnane, while working as a zoo purchaser, sold services from his family’s business to the zoo, sold personal cars using a straw seller and aided another defendant, former CEO Tom Stalf, in using zoo funds to buy a vehicle for Stalf’s personal use.

Murnane is also accused of using a zoo vendor barter system to book a party bus for a family member’s wedding, attending events at Nationwide Arena and the Schottenstein Center while using tickets the zoo paid for, and filing tax returns for 2019 without accounting for his fraudulent gains.

Charges also include accusations that Murnane purchased vehicles without obtaining a certificate of title. Those vehicles include four corvettes, years 2001, 2000, 1996 and 1968, along with a 1965 Ford and a 2009 Chevrolet PT.

The bill of information reports the alleged offenses took place between April 2014 and March 2020.

While not directly naming Murnane or the accusations, a Columbus Zoo spokesperson gave a statement to NBC4 distancing it from the accused.

"The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has taken decisive action to strengthen our financial policies and rebuild public trust ... Attorney General Dave Yost's office has our full support to actively pursue restitution on behalf of the Zoo and seek justice using the full extent of the law," the spokesperson wrote.

The charges against Murnane follows the indictment in September of three former Columbus Zoo executives accused of stealing more than $2.29 million in public funds for their own benefit.

Stalf, former Chief Executive Officer, is scheduled for trial August 6, which consists of 36 felony charges. Pete Fingerhut, the zoo’s former marketing director, is facing 62 felony charges and will begin a trial beginning July 9. They both pleaded not guilty in October 2023.

Greg Bell, former Chief Financial Officer, pleaded guilty to 14 felony charges, including aggravated theft and tampering with records. He will be sentenced at the conclusion of his co-defendant’s cases.