State to Probe Zoo Fraud Charges : San Diego: Employees were encouraged to falsify homework and time sheets so the facility could receive $621,000 in retraining funds, sources report.

A state agency said Wednesday it will investigate allegations of fraud and misrepresentation in a $621,600 state-funded training program at the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park.

The action by the state Employment Training Panel--which included suspending payments to the program--was taken in response to inquiries this week by The Times about allegations that zoo managers were aware of--and in some cases encouraged--animal keepers to falsify homework assignments and time sheets so the zoo could receive state money for its retraining program.

Training panel officials also said they will look into allegations that zoo administrators, on the 1989 application for the funds, exaggerated claims about the need for the program and that they billed the state improperly for a number of gardeners and electricians who took the course, which was intended to retrain animal keepers.

“I think the panel is interested in finding out whether there have been misrepresentations and/or fraud,” said Ron Rinaldi, executive director of the state agency, which provides grants to help employers run training programs to help avoid layoffs. “I’m sure (the panel) wouldn’t be happy with staff or themselves if they allowed these kinds of things to go unscrutizined. We are going to investigate this in full.”

Rinaldi said Wednesday he has ordered his agency to stop payment of $132,275 to the Zoological Society of San Diego that was due under the contract with the zoo. He also has asked for a team of monitors and special auditors to examine zoo records and interview keepers about the allegations. At least two of the auditors will begin meeting with zoo keepers on Friday, he said.

This is not a criminal probe.

If it is determined that there was wrongdoing, the zoo would be required to repay the state.

Georgeanne Irvine, a zoo society spokeswoman, said Wednesday, “We feel we had a very good program and we’re more than willing to cooperate with them on all issues and all areas.”

Irvine also said the society’s review of the matter showed that the zoo managers did nothing wrong.

In mid-1989, the training panel agreed to pay $621,600 for the retraining program at the Zoological Society of San Diego, which runs the world-famous zoo in Balboa Park and the 1,800-acre Wild Animal Park outside of Escondido.

The society said the program was needed because of its plans to move away from the old-fashioned, single-animal exhibits and remake the tourist attractions into “bioclimatic zones,” in which several species co-exist. The society argued that its entire zookeeper force faced the threat of layoffs.

The contract called for the society and two subcontractors to receive $3,700 for each of the 168 animal keepers who completed a 37-week course consisting of 142 hours of classroom instruction and 332 hours of on-the-job training. The classes were concluded last November, but the final payment--the $132,000--has yet to be made.

But 15 current and former keepers have told The Times that they routinely falsely indicated that they had completed training assignments, at times, they said, under pressure from supervisors. The completed forms were required for the zoo to be paid by the state.

Many also said the program was at best marginally helpful in their jobs.

“We were basically intimidated and threatened,” said Rick Schiller, a primate keeper since 1981. “All we had to do was sign our name and date it,” he said, adding that supervisors didn’t care whether anyone actually did the work.