After months of increasingly bitter public fights, the El Paso Zoological Society has filed a lawsuit against the city of El Paso over money raised by the group that has raised funds for the zoo for six decades.
In the lawsuit filed Tuesday, the Zoological Society alleged that relationships with the city were strong for decades until Joe Montisano was hired as zoo director in 2019. The relationship deteriorated in the ensuing years, culminating with a city decision to terminate its contract with the society in March.
The lawsuit asks a judge to declare that the funds raised by the El Paso Zoological Society and not yet spent are property of the society – not the city. The lawsuit doesn’t say how much money is at stake, but city officials have said the Zoological Society reported it had about $1.5 million in cash and investments as of November 2023.
In the weeks leading up to the lawsuit, the Zoological Society and city issued dueling statements staking out their positions.
“There were donations made by the public … that were earmarked for the zoo. They were earmarked for certain projects and that money cannot be held back,” Mayor Oscar Leeser said ahead of a May 20 City Council vote to close the city’s contract with the zoo.
The Zoological Society said in a May 17 media statement that the city is not entitled to money it holds.
“The Society contends that the City’s demand for unrestricted access to funds is unsupported by the terms of the license agreement. Moreover, the lack of articulated plans for fund utilization raises concerns about accountability and adherence to donor intent,” the society said in the statement.
Pamela Agullo, president of the nonprofit board for the Zoological Society, talks during public comment at the City Council meeting Tuesday, March 12, to advocate for a new contract with the city.(Elida S. Perez/El Paso Matters)
The Zoological Society has provided support to the zoo since 1963, primarily by selling memberships that helped fund zoo projects. The most recent contract between the city and society expired on March 17, and the two parties have been fighting in public since.
The city alleges the Zoological Society has not provided financial information that is required under its contract. The society has said the city has no legal right to the information since the contract is expired.
On May 20, the City Council voted after an executive session to take necessary actions to close the contract with the Zoological Society and pursue other fundraising opportunities.
That same day, the Zoological Society sent media a statement stating they agreed to accept the city’s offer to conduct a mutual audit of both the zoo’s and the nonprofit’s finances, but the city adamantly denied they received any such letter.
In its lawsuit, the Zoological Society said its relationship with the city began to deteriorate after it raised concerns about Montisano, including reimbursement of expenses on his personal credit card, sexual harassment allegations, and failure to fix an air conditioner.
The lawsuit alleges that after the City Council voted to terminate the contract, Montisano sent an email to a colleague stating: “Do not poke the bear because you may get bit. I killed a 63-year-old nonprofit, put 9 people out of work and made 1.6 million for the zoo in one move.”
“Although he later attempted to explain away his email as a ‘joke,’ the email clearly showed that Mr. Montisano never forgot the Society’s questioning of his dubious reimbursement requests, his treatment of the Society’s staff, and his lack of care for the conditions at the Zoo and continued to harbor a personal grudge against the Society,” the lawsuit said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
The post El Paso Zoological Society files lawsuit against city over funds raised for zoo appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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