Ohio Fishing Duo Charged With Cheating and Attempted Grand Theft
A month after a two-person fishing team at an Ohio contest scandalized the competitive fishing world when organizers said they engorged walleyes with lead balls to increase their weight, a grand jury indicted both men on Wednesday on felony charges of cheating and attempted grand theft.
The pair, Jacob Runyan, 42, of Ashtabula, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 35, of Hermitage, Pa., also face one count each of possessing criminal tools, a felony, and of unlawful ownership of wild animals, a misdemeanor.Read More : Blue Food Assessment provides sustainability recommendations to seafood industry Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley said in a statement that the men’s actions were “not only dishonorable but also criminal.” Mr. Runyan and Mr. Cominsky could not be reached for comment on Wednesday, and it was unclear who their legal representation was or if they had any.
On Sept. 30, the pair participated in the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament in Cleveland, where the indictment said they “did knowingly engage in conduct designed to corrupt the outcome” of the event.
Competitors were tasked with capturing five of the heaviest walleye fish in Lake Erie, and the winner was to be determined with a weigh-in. Mr. Runyan and Mr. Cominsky approached the scale with fish significantly heavier than what was standard, Jason Fischer, the tournament’s director said.
In a dramatic reveal at the weigh-in captured on video, Mr. Fischer prodded the stomach of a walleye caught by the pair and then sliced the fish open to reveal its contents: a lead ball. More were found in other fish presented by the two men.
“We got weights in fish!” Mr. Fischer exclaimed, to jeers from the crowd. Onlookers swiftly gathered near Mr. Fischer to get a closer look at the lead ball he brandished in the air.
In all, Mr. Runyan and Mr. Cominsky had stuffed their catch with ten weights, each one weighing either 8 or 12 ounces, as well as “several walleye fillets,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The pair were disqualified and asked to leave. Had they placed first, Mr. Runyan and Mr. Cominsky would have won nearly $30,000, the prosecutor’s office said.
They came in first place at the three previous Lake Erie Walleye Trail events in June, July, and September. Mr. Fischer said on Wednesday that the pair were “given checks for first place” but did not specify how much their past winnings amounted to.
In a video posted on the tournament’s Facebook page last week, Mr. Fischer said the cheating scandal was “one of the most disgusting, dishonest acts that the fishing world has ever seen in live time.”
“The individuals involved here appeared to have put greed and ego in front of anything else, forever tainting our sport,” he said.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources responded to the incident and conducted an investigation, the prosecutor’s office said. The department declined to comment.
About two weeks after the tournament, local law enforcement executed a search warrant and seized a Ranger Pro Fisherman model fiberglass boat and trailer belonging to Mr. Cominsky that was used in the tournament, according to the indictment.
The boat is now being held by the state’s Department of Natural Resources, the prosecutor’s office said.
If convicted, Mr. Runyan and Mr. Cominsky could face up to a year in prison and up to $2,500 in fines for three of the felony charges. A conviction on the fourth charge of unlawful ownership of wild animals, a misdemeanor, could trigger an “indefinite suspension of their fishing licenses,” the prosecutor’s office said, adding that this charge stemmed from the walleye fish fillets that were aboard on the day of the tournament. They will be arraigned on Oct. 26, said Anna Horne, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office.
The pair, Jacob Runyan, 42, of Ashtabula, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky, 35, of Hermitage, Pa., also face one count each of possessing criminal tools, a felony, and of unlawful ownership of wild animals, a misdemeanor.
On Sept. 30, the pair participated in the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament in Cleveland, where the indictment said they “did knowingly engage in conduct designed to corrupt the outcome” of the event.
Competitors were tasked with capturing five of the heaviest walleye fish in Lake Erie, and the winner was to be determined with a weigh-in. Mr. Runyan and Mr. Cominsky approached the scale with fish significantly heavier than what was standard, Jason Fischer, the tournament’s director said.
In a dramatic reveal at the weigh-in captured on video, Mr. Fischer prodded the stomach of a walleye caught by the pair and then sliced the fish open to reveal its contents: a lead ball. More were found in other fish presented by the two men.
“We got weights in fish!” Mr. Fischer exclaimed, to jeers from the crowd. Onlookers swiftly gathered near Mr. Fischer to get a closer look at the lead ball he brandished in the air.
In all, Mr. Runyan and Mr. Cominsky had stuffed their catch with ten weights, each one weighing either 8 or 12 ounces, as well as “several walleye fillets,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The pair were disqualified and asked to leave. Had they placed first, Mr. Runyan and Mr. Cominsky would have won nearly $30,000, the prosecutor’s office said.
They came in first place at the three previous Lake Erie Walleye Trail events in June, July, and September. Mr. Fischer said on Wednesday that the pair were “given checks for first place” but did not specify how much their past winnings amounted to.
In a video posted on the tournament’s Facebook page last week, Mr. Fischer said the cheating scandal was “one of the most disgusting, dishonest acts that the fishing world has ever seen in live time.”
“The individuals involved here appeared to have put greed and ego in front of anything else, forever tainting our sport,” he said.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources responded to the incident and conducted an investigation, the prosecutor’s office said. The department declined to comment.
About two weeks after the tournament, local law enforcement executed a search warrant and seized a Ranger Pro Fisherman model fiberglass boat and trailer belonging to Mr. Cominsky that was used in the tournament, according to the indictment.
The boat is now being held by the state’s Department of Natural Resources, the prosecutor’s office said.
If convicted, Mr. Runyan and Mr. Cominsky could face up to a year in prison and up to $2,500 in fines for three of the felony charges. A conviction on the fourth charge of unlawful ownership of wild animals, a misdemeanor, could trigger an “indefinite suspension of their fishing licenses,” the prosecutor’s office said, adding that this charge stemmed from the walleye fish fillets that were aboard on the day of the tournament. They will be arraigned on Oct. 26, said Anna Horne, a spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office.
Source: www.nytimes.com
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