Allegations of cheating during a prestigious walleye fishing contest on Lake Erie last week have prompted the county prosecutor’s office in Cleveland to launch an inquiry.
When Jason Fischer, the Lake Erie Walleye Trail’s tournament director, broke up the championship catch of five walleyes on Friday, he discovered lead weights and prepared fish filets inside. (Warning: The attached video includes explicit language.)
Jacob Runyan of Broadview Heights, Ohio, and Chase Cominsky of Hermitage, Pennsylvania, the two fishermen who took first place, were instantly disqualified.
The dramatic video showed a mob of angry spectators forming around the competitors, accusing them of cheating in earlier competitions as well and threatening to contact the police, claiming that the two guys had practically stolen thousands of dollars from other participants.
The fish seemed heavier than ordinary walleye of that length, according to Fischer, who told WOIO-TV that he sliced them open.
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office will get a report that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ officers are now writing after collecting evidence from the competition.
Michael O’Malley, the prosecutor for Cuyahoga County, said that his staff and the officials of the organization would meet on Tuesday.
O’Malley said, “I treat every crime seriously, even attempted criminal theft during a fishing competition. “These people will answer for their actions.”
On Monday, messages were left for Runyan, Cominsky, and Fischer requesting comments.
After the competition, Fischer issued an apology for the cheating controversy in a Facebook post.
Disgusted “men and girls,” I’m sorry for letting you down for so long, and I’m delighted I discovered cheating in YOUR LEWT [Lake Erie Walleye Trail] concurrently, he wrote.
“Now that you’ve read this, I hope you understand my meaning when I say, “You constructed this LEWT, and I will protect its integrity at all costs.” All of you deserve to succeed “Fisher tacked on.