Last October, two fishermen in Ohio rocked the world of competitive angling when they were caught red-handed stuffing the body cavities of walleyes they’d caught during a tournament with huge lead fishing weights. Jacob Runyan and Chase Cominsky became infamous overnight when video footage of their cheating scandal surfaced on Youtube and received widespread national coverage in the Associated Press, The Washington Post, and the New York Times. The anglers were indicted on October 12, 2022, and they’re still awaiting trial in Ohio for charges that include cheating, attempted grand theft, and possession of criminal tools. But one of them is now facing separate charges for stalking an ex-wife and supplying his 18-year-old son with counterfeit money.
Editor’s note: The video below contains strong language.
According to local news outlet WFMJ, Chase Cominsky’s latest charge stems from a late January incident at a bowling alley in Hermitage, Pennsylvania. That night, his 18-year-old son tried to exchange two fake $100 bills for several games of bowling.
A text thread included in a court complaint—allegedly between Cominsky and his son—revealed that the elder Cominsky provided the son with the counterfeit bills. The bills were obviously fake, police said, because they were stamped with the phrases “For Motion Picture Purposes” and “not legal tender.”
Cominsky’s most recent allegations come on the heels of yet another charge that was filed against him on October 31, 2022—about two weeks after the walleye cheating scandal first emerged. That charge was issued after he was accused of stalking and harassing his ex-wife while she was driving her child home from school in Pennsylvania’s Jefferson Township. According to a criminal complaint, the woman said Cominsky hacked into her SnapChat and email accounts and sent her several threatening text messages before tailgating her so closely that she feared their vehicles might collide.
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Cominsky’s bond for the charge of supplying his son with counterfeit bills has been set at $12,000. His hearing for the stalking case will take place in May in Jefferson Township. Both Cominsky and Runyan will stand trial for their combined roles in the walleye cheating case on March 27 in Cuyahoga County Court.
