Anglers Jacob Runyan and Chase Cominski faced international humiliation after suspiciously heavy tournament catches were found to be stuffed with lead weights and dead meat. Now the two men, 42 and 35 years old, have more problems to deal with: felony charges of cheating, attempted grand theft and possessing criminal tools and misdemeanor charges of unlawfully owning wild animals.
The men were accused of stuffing walleyes in hopes of winning the Lake Erie Walleye Trail tournament, with a top prize of $28,760 and much else to be taken home. Video shows a tournament official slicing open fish and excitedly declaring the discovery of the weights—an outcome that drew an increasingly annoyed crowd as further insertions were found.
Often prize winners—one recent haul reportedly won a $150,000 boat—the pair were long-suspected of doing something fishy.
