Caught Again

[Capt. Keith Wils]

Seen this on another site that Andy Schwartz and his daughter where caught on Big Bay De Noc with several hunderd pounds of Whitefish.

[Capt. Keith Wils]

From the Escanaba Daily Press

MANISTIQUE - Three Rapid River men had their tribal fishing rights permanently taken away from them Friday during their sentencings for illegal commercial fishing operations in 2009.

Andrew, Kevin and John Schwartz were ticketed with 105 citations by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians last year in connection with an illegal commercial fishing operation on Little Bay de Noc. Officers from the Department of Natural Resources spearheaded the investigation.

After three days of being tried in tribal court in the Sault, the brothers were handed down their sentencings Friday at the tribal center in Manistique.

The Honorable Chief Judge Jocelyn K. Fabry found the tribal members responsible for the majority of the 105 citations. In addition to revoking their fishing rights, the judge ordered the three pay thousands of dollars in fines, court costs, and restitution. Final figures will be available from the court Monday, according to the court clerk.

The three defendants were tried together on July 26 and 27 and Aug. 13. According to a Consent Decree, it is the tribal court's responsibility to prosecute tribal members who illegally fish within treaty boundaries.

Judge Fabry said it took her a week to render her decision after going over the trial exhibits, testimony and citations. She said there was a large volume of tickets to review with the three defendantsbeing cited on different dates.

During sentencing, the judge first addressed the citations alleging the brothers' gill nets violated the minimum 50-foot spacing requirement. Though two of the brothers admitted the nets were in violation in the "Gladstone set of nets," it was unclear to the court if the nets were set too close to each other so the judge ruled in favor of the defendants.

On the other hand, the judge found the three men responsible for 17 violations pertaining to nets found less than 50 feet from each other in the "southern location near Escanaba." Each ticket has a $100 fine and a $25 court cost.

The judge's other sentencings related to subsistent fishing. Tribal members are allowed to fish up to 100 pounds of fish a day for their families to eat. The three brothers violated this right by selling subsistent fish, possessing more than the 100-pound daily limit, and allowing a non-native to fish with them, the judge explained.

The men were illegally fishing in one of the best walleye fishing areas in the state, said Fabry as she explained how evidence proved the illegal commercial fishing operations. Fish caught in the brothers' gill nets were marked with microchips planted by conservation officers. Shortly after, these same fish were found at the Big Bay de Noc Fisheries where they had been sold to Troy and Wade Jensen.

As a result, the judge found the Schwartz brothers in violation of the 100-pound daily catch limit and were responsible for illegally selling subsistence fish to the fish market. In addition, the three brothers were found responsible for allowing a non-native, John Halverson, to partake in fishing activities with them, Fabry said.

Each of the above multiple citations has a fine ranging from $250 to $50 as well as court costs. The three defendants' fishing licenses were permanently suspended. The court also forfeited four snowmobiles and gill nets. The three men have 30 days to appeal the judge's decision.

[duckiller2]

Andy from Rapid River

He was caught with his daughter with more than her 100 lbs limit. He says he did nothing wrong because she has her card.

1) then she was over her limit (apple did not fall far from the tree) For anyone who reads the GOOD BOOK it says Train up your child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it. Truer words never spoken.
2) He said she was the only one pulling nets. My guess is there is video proving other wise.

Hope the tribe cares this time around. He must have missed the last memo.

[tomjohn]

He was caught with his daughter with more than her 100 lbs limit. He says he did nothing wrong because she has her card.

WOW...Did he throw her under the bus or what!!!

[DooFighter]

This andy he's a real piece of work. The audacity is unbelievable. I thought it was general criminal knowledge that when the heat is on you lay low for a while and let things blow over?

[tomjohn]

How's that go...They always return to the scene of the crime. Or is it, curiosity killed the cat?

[peanutbutter soup]

you called that right...threw the daughter under the bus....what a piece of trash.....with a little luck...they'll throw him in jail for ma wile. it's not gonna happen....but that would be nice.:mad:

[The Bait Shop Guy]

Isn't there an old saying about leopards not changing their spots? :rolleyes:

[Mike P]

Well I guess this just demonstrates what affect the punishment had on them getting caught illegally fishing the last time, and the deterrent it had on this guy.

Obviously NOTHING !

Maybe this time it should be more appropriate.

[Esky Moe]

Wonder how all those people who came to the hearing to support him as their children's coach are feeling right about now?

[outdoorguy]

Is there anything we can do about it ? "We" as group of concerned citizens should be able to apply some pressure to the authorities on this Repeat Offender.
I'm open for suggestions.......
I know that I will NEVER cast a shadow on the Casino property again.
The effect on our local economy from this happening AGAIN that is already on many other websites will cost us all. Not just the Restaurants, Motels and Bait shops.
The perception that Bay's DeNoc Fishery is damaged will linger for years.

[bottle_bass]

Schwartz doesnt sound like a native american name. John Schwartz is the first blonde haired blue eyed Indian I have ever seen. Everybody that nets around here are white people with a farts worth of native american in them. Has anybody around here ever seen an actual Indian looking Native American on the ice or open water in little bay? I never have. The tribe made the mistake of letting people with very little native blood in them become members. Unfortunatly we probably cant do s!@* about it. Hopefully all the bait shops, bars, and other businesses around here reservce the right to serve these d-bags!

[fishmaster]

Not to call anyone out, but before I shoot from the hip is there a link from this supposed "other site"?

[outdoorguy]

http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=173421

[ski2313]

Everybody that nets around here are white people with a farts worth of native american in them.

LOL


Sorry... found that kind of funny.

[hook em and cook em]

I have a good idea what will happen over this deal. Nothing. If anyone thinks for a minute that the tribal folks want to administer any sort of punishment to their members, they are wrong. Just like someone said.. There is power in numbers. The Native American community knows this to be a fact. It is pretty obvious as to why the Native has gotten so many perks over the years. That is precisely why someone with a scant amount of Native blood can become a member of the Tribe.

[fishmaster]

sorry to burst everyones bubble on this, but it was not Schwartz that got caught in Munising, per a game officer with the Tribal DNR, he couldn't release names but did state that is WAS NOT ONE OF THE SCHWARTZ'S! maybe we need to start getting facts before spreading the rumors!

[outdoorguy]

And the Facts are ?????? Do you anything more than what you posted ????
Will a Name EVER be published since it is a "Tribal Person" that is stealing EVERYONE'S Fish ?

[fishmaster]

Facts are that someone was caught in Munising bay with 100+ pounds of whitefish, facts are it wasn't the formentioned person, facts are no tickets were even issued.....I won't say the tribal officers name either just cause he's a friend. If you don't believe me fine....but then why would you believe the other post on here?

[Mike P]

You know when I read this post from " Fishmaster", and correct me if I'm wrong ,but I thought the incident we were talking about was on BBDN at Garden Bay

I dont know where anyone posted about an incident about illegal netting by tribal members in Munising Bay, that you mention.

Perhaps that was another incident not to be confused with the one Keith started with his initial post he posted on here about Schwartz on BBDN.

Sounds like you've got two different incidents of illegal netting here.

[Capt. Keith Wils]

sorry to burst everyones bubble on this, but it was not Schwartz that got caught in Munising, per a game officer with the Tribal DNR, he couldn't release names but did state that is WAS NOT ONE OF THE SCHWARTZ'S! maybe we need to start getting facts before spreading the rumors!

Andy Schwartz and his 13 year old daughter where caught on BIG BAY DE NOC ON NOVEMBER 25TH WITH 235 POUNDS OF WHITEFISH HAPPY THANKSGIVING NIGHT !!

[duckiller2]

Andy was caught with his daughter netting white fish in Big Bay south of Garden. Now that is fact even if you do not like it