» In deep water:
Highranking Wisconsin corrections officials are convicted of fishing violations in Ohio and now face an internal agency review after they deliberately skirted limits on walleye.
MADISON - High-ranking Wisconsin Department of Corrections officials were convicted of criminal fishing violations in Ohio and now face an internal agency review after they deliberately skirted limits on walleye and caught more than allowed.
Pleading guilty to a misdemeanor on June 5 and receiving fines of $150 each were Michael Dittmann, the warden at Columbia Correctional Institution; Steve Schueler, the deputy warden at Green Bay Correctional Institution; and Paul Neevel Jr., a corrections employee who is now working temporarily within the state’s adult prison division. Three former high-ranking Corrections employees were also on the Lake Erie trip and received the same misdemeanor penalties in Ottawa County, Ohio.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in 2010 on an internal investigation of Dittmann by the Department of Corrections, which found evidence that he used slurs against gays, hurled fruit at subordinates who disagreed with him and may have even approved overtime pay for some staffers so others could go to cookouts.
The men in Ohio all caught their limits of walleyes — a fish prized by anglers and diners alike — then stashed their fish on shore and went out again to catch another limit. The illegal practice is known as “double-tripping.”
In addition to the initial fine and court costs, two of the convicted men have to pay $300 in restitution for catching 12 fish — six fish more than the legal limit. Everyone on the trip paid a fine for the extra fish, ranging from $100 to $300 for two to six fish too many.
All six people lost their fishing privileges in Ohio for a year and will soon have them suspended in Wisconsin because of agreements between states. They also received 10-day jail sentences, but those were suspended on the condition that they don’t commit the same offense again.
In violations like these, one person takes more than his or her rightful share of a public resource, breaking laws meant to protect against overfishing and leaving fewer fish for other anglers, according to George Meyer, executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation.
“Someone with law enforcement responsibilities (breaking the law) makes it even worse,” Meyer said.
A multiple-trip offense is a fourth-degree misdemeanor in Ohio that requires a court appearance. The six were convicted on June 5 for the violation in May.
Employees of Wisconsin’s DOC are required to inform their supervisor if they have run-ins with police outside work.
Schueler and Dittmann reported the police contact, which launched an internal investigation to determine if work rules were violated. It is common for internal investigations to follow a reported police incident, according to DOC spokesman Tristan Cook.
Cook declined to say whether the employees had promptly reported the violation, saying he couldn’t comment until the investigation finishes. The employees are not on administrative leave, which is reserved for employees who are likely to be fired, he said.
Also on the trip were: Michael Thurmer, retired warden at Waupun Correctional Institution; Robert Hable, retired deputy warden at Oshkosh Correctional Institution; and Craig Arndt, retired captain at John C. Burke Correctional Center.
Despite the 2010 investigation of Dittmann, the Department of Corrections didn’t demote the warden at the time and didn’t answer questions about whether he had been disciplined then or required to undergo training. But the agency did reprimand and suspend the corrections supervisor who reported Dittmann, saying he should not have recorded their conversations.