Fired employees in Pine County file whistleblower suit against Wildcat Sanctuary
- Article by: KEVIN GILES , Star Tribune
- Updated: May 7, 2014 - 1:47 AM
Six former employees of a Pine County sanctuary for exotic wildcats filed a whistleblower lawsuit Tuesday contending they were fired or forced to resign after they reported illegal activities to the organization’s board of directors.
The sudden dismissal of so many employees — all of whom had received positive job reviews — from the Wildcat Sanctuary was a “startling example of unlawful retaliation,” the suit said.
Five firings and a forced resignation came after employees revealed that Executive Director Tammy Thies was spending money donated to the nonprofit sanctuary for her house, dogs and other personal uses, it said.
The suit, filed by attorney Craig Brandt of Minneapolis, also alleged that the sanctuary and Thies violated Minnesota wage laws and that plaintiffs were defamed in public statements made by Thies and board members.
Sanctuary officials didn’t respond to inquiries Tuesday, but issued a short statement: “We’re in receipt of the lawsuit. The Wildcat Sanctuary plans to vigorously defend these claims in court.”
The suit comes just weeks after a Minnesota attorney general’s report confirmed Thies had spent thousands of dollars in sanctuary funds for personal use despite earlier public denials by board members Gail Plewacki, Peggy Callahan and Sue Schmitt.
The report said Thies spent hundreds of dollars for such items as underwear, movies, hair-removal products and sky-diving lessons for her husband, $550 in taxes for her house, $3,200 in propane to heat it, and $4,900 for four years of cellphone service.
Evidence of “extensive use” of sanctuary credit cards for personal use and “double reimbursement” for some expenses was found, the attorney general’s office said. An agreement filed in court specified numerous conditions for the sanctuary to remain in nonprofit status, including hiring an outside auditor and filing regular reports with the attorney general’s office for five years.
Allegations filed
The whistleblower suit filed Tuesday accused Thies and the sanctuary of failing to pay overtime and neglecting to keep accurate records of hours that employees worked. The suit also said that she told them they had to spend a minimum number of overnight stays at the sanctuary each month without additional compensation.
Among other allegations in the suit: Thies told staff to forge her signature on credit card receipts on the advice of board members, she refused to hire certain people “expressly because of their ages,” she ingested prescription drugs intended for wildcats, and she drove drunk in a sanctuary vehicle after a fundraising party.
“You have placed one individual above the entire organization including the people and the animals and it shames me to be a part of it,” Alicia Kroll, a five-year animal keeper who resigned in October, wrote to board members. She also complained of “hostile working conditions and unethical practices.”
The other former employees named as plaintiffs were lead keeper Trista Fischer, Christine Dietsche, Christina Mastry, Natalie Warnacutt and Holly Whitney. Those five employees were fired in November after a summer and fall of turmoil at the sanctuary. Eight board members left, more were added, and the suit said the departed employees were disparaged publicly as troublemakers.
‘Hostile hearsay’
In a news story last fall, board member Callahan referred to allegations by the employees as “hostile hearsay” and said “disgruntled people started rumors that led to upheaval at the sanctuary,” the suit said. In another interview, according to the suit, Callahan said employee complaints amounted to a “witch hunt.”
Plewacki said accusations of theft were “patently false” and “nobody’s stealing money from the sanctuary, period,” according to the suit. Schmitt said an independent audit “disproved the charges,” the suit said.
The attorney general’s report said it was unable to verify more than $3,000 in reimbursements to Thies because financial documentation was missing.
The whistleblower suit seeks a jury trial to determine damages for defamation, punitive damages and compensation for lost income and benefits.
The Wildcat Sanctuary, near Sandstone, Minn., is a refuge to more than 100 lions, tigers, cougars and other abandoned exotic cats once owned privately until they became public safety threats. It’s funded entirely with private donations, although many donors withdrew their support last fall after the firings occurred.
The sanctuary has an annual budget of about $850,000.
The suit was filed under Minnesota’s Whistleblower Act, which protects employees from retaliation for reporting suspected violations of law.
Kevin Giles • 651-925-5037
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I applaud the former workers who are suing the sanctuary for alleged violations of the Whistle-blower Act and FLSA laws. I pray they get their day in court and eventually win their case. I imagine other wild animal sanctuaries wished TWC sanctuary would just settled this case out of court as it will certainly put a black eye on the face of all wild animal sanctuaries.
If it is true that the director ingested drugs intended for the cats (i.e. pain killers), then she should be fired IMMEDIATELY! Driving drunk in a sanctuary owned vehicle -- hmmm...Thies sounds like another Ron Asvestas. I do not understand why the TWS board has not fired Thies yet. Don't they know they too can be held criminally liable for her misdeeds if they do nothing to stop the criminal? They need to cut her loose before the sanctuary goes down hill like the WAO. I am really worried about the former WAO animals living there now...
What surprised me was that GFAS is standing by this sanctuary; so far they have not been stripped of their GFAS accreditation. I wonder what it would take for an accredited sanctuary to lose it's accreditation? Certainly not theft of donated funds or major violations of the USDA AWA (See Wildcat Haven's employee death blog posting). Just goes to show that GFAS is just for "show" and does not take its fiduciary responsibilities that seriously.
Startling update:
http://www.startribune.com/local/267428401.html
Wow! Tammy Theis is taking a page right out of the Asvestas' playbook--blame the whistle-blowers for her bad acts and behavior. Shameful. In my opinion, thieving Theis should be in jail. Sadly, I know exactly what the whistle-blowers are going through right now. I pray they hold tight and stay together--the truth needs to be made public about what really goes on behind the sanctuary's doors. Again, I wish no WAO animals went to this place.
Thieving Theis should be ashamed that the article listed below made it in the news. Would you want to donate to this place after reading this article? Theis should leave the organization for the good of the organization and its animals--but I think we all know she will never leave this place on her own.
Info from Non-profit Quarterly: https://nonprofitquarterly.org/a-wildcat-sanctuary-and-a-whistleblower-suit/. Gee I wonder if she ever repaid every last cent she stole from the animals?
Much later:
A Wildcat Sanctuary and a Whistleblower Suit
Ruth McCambridge
May 7, 2014
May 6, 2014; Minneapolis Star Tribune
In Minnesota, six people have filed a whistleblower suit against The Wildcat Sanctuary in Pine County, alleging that they were fired or were forced to resign from their jobs for reporting misuse of organizational funds by the executive director. Minnesota’s Whistleblower Act disallows that type of retaliation against employees who report suspected violations of law.
Tammy Thies is the executive director and founder of the sanctuary, and a state attorney general’s report says that sanctuary funds were used by her for personal expenses, including purchases of groceries, ladies’ underwear, skydiving lessons for Thies’ husband, “bawdy books,” and utilities for her private house. This behavior was acknowledged in a signed agreement between the sanctuary’s board chairwoman Gail Plewacki and the Attorney General’s Office.
Thies was placed on administrative leave while the investigation was active, but has been reinstated to leadership. However, according to Legal Newsline, “TWS must recruit and elect at least three additional members to its board who are approved by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, review and evaluate all expenses to determine their reasonableness and propriety and appoint a third-party monitor to provide guidance and instruction to the organization’s board. Within 60 days of executing the agreement, TWS must undertake a comprehensive review to determine the amount of TWS funds allegedly spent by Thies. If she refuses to pay back TWS for the alleged expenditures, TWS must sever its relationship with Thies.”—Ruth McCambridge
Much later:
For months, I've been wondering what happened to Trista Fischer's lawsuit against thieving Theis and her merry band of board members. Turns out, this case was "quietly" and "confidentially" settled. According to WCS' 2014 990, Ms. Fischer received $101, 669 as an "employment settlement" from the sanctuary. Like Carol Asvestas, thieving Theis did not want the employee's case to go public, so WCS donors paid over $100k for the board of directors mistakes. And the best part of it all, thieving Theis can now plunder the sanctuary's coffers once again! Oh yay!
WCS 990 2014 (Refer to page 7 for "employment settlement")
WCS 990 2014 (Refer to page 7 for "employment settlement")
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