I'm guessing that Cy, who operated a private zoo, had the inside track on where to buy a wildebeest, as well as snowy owls and other items he used with stolen public money.
Source: Columbus Dispatch
A former Vinton Township fiscal officer used public money to buy kayaks, hot tubs, a popcorn cart, a drum set, a snow cone machine, a CPR manikin, two snow owls and a wildebeest, according to a state audit released Tuesday.
Cy Vierstra was sentenced to 59 months in prison after pleading guilty to theft in office, engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, tampering with records and other charges. He was also ordered to pay back $340,000.
He spent $4,116.30 on the wildebeest and $4,963.77 on the snow owls, state auditor records show.
Vierstra operated the Union Ridge Wildlife Center, a private zoo and AirBnB rental in Wilkesville in Vinton County.
A state audit found that former Vinton Township fiscal officer Cy Vierstra misused more than $300,000 in public money to purchase a wildebeest, two owls, a snow cone machine and other items for his residence and roadside zoo.
The property included chimps, monkeys, tigers, lemurs and other exotic animals. This week, PETA assisted in the relocation of four chimpanzees −named April, Anna, Lucy and Cash − from Vierstra's property to an accredited sanctuary in Florida.
Vierstra was actually sentenced in February but after the audit, we're learning what he exactly spent the $287,565.11 on. The total has since gone over $340,000.
According to reports, Cy Vierstra used the township debit and credit cards and issued checks on the township bank account for expenditures for his personal benefit, renovations to his residence, and a non-profit wildlife refuge he operates known as Union Ridge Wildlife Center (URWC). The investigation further uncovered evidence that CY created and uttered numerous false records, including invoices, billing slips, and other purchase and payment documents, along with falsifying copies of township trustee minutes, in an effort to disguise the true nature and purpose of various personal expenditures. Those false and fictitious records were provided by CY to the IPA as supporting documentation for certain questioned expenditures during the 2018-2019 financial audit of Vinton Township.
