David A. Insley - the superintendent of the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s Castalia State cold-water Fish Hatchery near Sandusky - was placed on unpaid administrative leave Thursday, Jan. 12.
This action was taken based an arrest by the Ohio Department of Public Safety’s Ohio Highway Patrol, said Carlo LoParo, communications director for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
Insley had been the manager of the fish hatchery since April, 1988.
The Ohio Highway Patrol’s web site contains the following Jan. 11 release regarding the matter:
“The Ohio State Highway Patrol in conjunction with the Inspector General’s Office and Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) executed an arrest warrant on David A. Insley, Superintendent of the Castalia State Fish Hatchery in Castalia, Ohio in Erie County. He was charged with theft in office and incarcerated at the Erie County Jail. The investigation began when Patrol was notified this past August by ODNR that they believed the suspect was misusing his state issued credit card.”
LoParo said the Natural Resources Department defers all comments to the Safety Department’s Ohio Highway Patrol.
Ohio Highway Patrol Lieutenant Clif Spinner said “it is our case but obviously it’s still a pending criminal case so at this point we cannot release any additional information.”
And Ohio Deputy Inspector General Carl Enslen said his agency’s policy is to refrain from speaking on any on-going investigation until its been completed.
“We certainly don’t deny the Ohio Highway Patrol’s statement,” Enslen said also.
Enslen said also in a follow-up email that once the investigation is completed and a report filed then the agency will try to answer any questions that might arise.
The Castalia facility is renowned as the state’s premier cold-water fish hatchery. It is currently undergoing extensive renovations in order to help better accommodate Ohio’s steelhead rearing and stocking program.
The hatchery also was where the Wildlife Division propagated a Northeast Ohio native strain of brook trout for restocking into several Lake and Geauga County streams.
This blog posting will be updated as further information becomes available.
- Jeffrey L. Frischkorn
JFrischkorn@News-Herald.com
Twiter: @Fieldkorn
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