A Pennsylvania man convicted of cheating in a fishing tournament has also been accused of poaching deer.
Chase Cominsky, 36, became infamous on social media in 2022 when a video made the rounds of fishing tournament officials finding lead weights in Cominsky's and his fishing partner Jacob Runyan's walleyes. They'd put the lead in the fish in order to make them heavier, in the hopes of scoring the tournament's $29,000 cash grand prize. The two men were immediately disqualified, and Cominisky's boat, valued at around $130,000, was seized by authorities for evidence. Both men were sentenced to 10 days in jail, fined, and had their fishing licenses suspended.
(It wasn't the first time the two had been investigated for cheating. They were also investigated at Toledo's Rossford Walleye Roundup Tournament, though the prosecutor eventually declined to charge the two men.)
Now, Cominsky has been accused of poaching deer. A Pennsylvania Game Warden has filed eight charges against Cominsky for illegally harvesting whitetail deer between 2013 and 2021.
According to the Sharon Herald, game wardens began investigating Cominsky earlier this year after receiving an anonymous tip that he had taken a whitetail deer out of season, after hours, and without a valid hunting license.
Authorities searched Cominsky's home in April and found five antlered deer heads that had been mounted between 2013 and 2021. Three mounted trophy-class deer heads were labeled with his wife's tags.
There's just one problem. Cominksy's wife told game officials she'd never killed a deer herself. Cominksy had brought down "her deer" using guns or crossbows. He did so despite having a suspended hunting license in Pennsylvania between 2008 and 2021 for multiple game law violations.
Cominsky is scheduled to appear before a district magistrate in November to answer charges that include taking big game out of season, failure to attach a tag to big game, and lending a kill tag. He's also awaiting another trial for an unrelated case, in which he allegedly gave his son two fake $100 bills to spend at a bowling alley.
If he is convicted, Cominksy will prove the old adage: "Once a cheater, always a cheater."
