In the OP's case it sounds like there was a flagrant abuse of office supplies, given that the CEO noticed the increase in cost to the company, and restricting access to the supplies caused the costs to plummet. I'm not sure that the office manager should have been held totally responsible, although keeping an eye on the usage of supplies may have been within their responsibilities. And quitting over the issue sounds pretty extreme - in that situation I would bring up the prior experience with the new boss, and then carefully track costs. If the cost of supplies started to increase, then you could report this up the chain, with details of where the money was going (like - we're using 10x as much toner). If the manager would be fired at that point, then it's the kind of place where they should have been looking for a new job already.
Personally, I think a system where you have to make a requisition and wait half an hour for pens or post-its is too draconian, however.
In my office, we have a cabinet in the main admin office that has pens, pencils, rulers, post-its, notebooks, staples, etc., and a notebook to sign when you take stuff. The coffee and tea (which we need to pay for) is kept in the break room, so you can refill the machine. Toner is managed by the tech staff - if the printer is out, you tell them and they replace it. Things like computer equipment, a new phone, office furniture, etc. has to go through appropriate channels, and would involve paperwork and a named recipient.
As an aside - in the first case, I kind of wonder if the office manager had been taking advantage of the system and diverting supplies themselves. That would be a firing offense.