Updated 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 28: This story has been updated with comments from city leaders following a Tuesday afternoon press conference.

After months of increasingly bitter public fights, the El Paso Zoological Society has filed a lawsuit against the city of El Paso over money collected 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 not to renew 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.

“It’s hard to believe that they would do that…file a lawsuit against the city so they wouldn’t (have to) share the money that was given to the organization for the betterment of the zoo,” Mayor Oscar Leeser said during a media briefing Tuesday. “It’s a shame to be honest with you.”

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,” Leeser said ahead of a May 20 City Council vote to close the city’s contract with the zoo.

The city Tuesday said it has filed a complaint with the Texas Attorney General Charitable Trust Division regarding possible mismanagement or diversion of charitable assets as well as a tax-exempt organization complaint with the Internal Revenue Service to determine if there has been a violation of federal tax law. The city also said it has filed a claim with the society’s insurance carrier.

“The city of El Paso has turned over the records and asked the IRS and the attorney general to intervene and look at what’s been going on with the Zoological Society,” Leeser said Tuesday. “We did work with them and we tried to really try to come up with a new agreement. The new agreement was to make sure that we did what was best for the zoo was best for the animals and the children.”

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 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.

Leeser did not comment on the specifics of the lawsuit, but interim City Manager Cary Westin said he is addressing the comments Montisano made in the email.

“I want to make it really clear that those comments are unfortunate. I don’t condone the comments that were made – it’s not a city position and that’s in the end none of us at the city condone that,” Westin said during the press briefing Tuesday.

Westin said any allegations made against Montisano in the lawsuit have been addressed at the administrative level, but did not specify whether any disciplinary action was taken.

“Previous allegations have been investigated and I don’t think it’d be really appropriate for me to go over those now,” Westin said. “But all those have been, they’ve been addressed.”

Elida S. Perez is a senior reporter for El Paso Matters. Her experience includes work as city government watchdog reporter for the El Paso Times, investigative reporter for El Paso Newspaper Tree and communities...