KENORA, Ont. -- Not knowing the name of the mayor of Mississauga, Ont., was the downfall of a Chicago-area angler caught fishing on one of northwestern Ontario's biggest lakes with a fraudulent Ontario Outdoors card.
The Park Ridge, Ill., man was charged in August after a routine boat inspection on Lac Seul determined he was not from Mississauga -- the municipality he used when he purchased his card.
Conservation officer Tim Neidenbach said he asked the man who the mayor of Mississauga is, but he didn't know her name.
Neidenbach said most people who live in Mississauga know it's Hazel McCallion, who has been the city's mayor for 31 years.
Neidenbach said the man, who was fined $5,000, is an avid fisherman who had been using a fraudulent Outdoors Ontario card since 1993.
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Neidenbach said fraudulent purchases of Ontario-resident licenses by Americans are more common among hunters.
"I think he plans to pay the fine because he wants to come back up here to fish," said Neidenbach, adding the man's fishing rod and tackle were seized after the August inspection.
A fishing license for someone with a valid Outdoors Ontario card normally costs $25, but the amount is twice as much for nonresidents.
By using a fraudulent card, said Neidenbach, the man likely saved "$800 or $900" over the past 17 years, "but now he's having to pay out $5,000."
