Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 10, 1990 TAG: 9007100382
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DAVID M. POOLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BEDFORD LENGTH: Medium
In a plea agreement, M.R. "Spike" Franceschini also agreed to reimburse the state $125 - or $25 per fish - for the five illegal bass he caught.
In April, state game officials cited Franceschini after a sporting magazine published a photo of the fishing guide posed with two customers and their catch of nearly two dozen striped bass. The caption read: "Thanks to the expertise of Spike's Prime Time Fishin', they were able to bring in 22 stripers totaling 146 lbs. by 11 a.m."
When confronted, Franceschini did not deny the accuracy of the caption, according to game warden Marty Plasters.
"He basically said what happened," Plasters said Monday. "He didn't try to pull the wool over my eyes."
Visiting General District Judge Joseph P. Bounds accepted Franceschini's guilty plea and imposed the maximum fine of $500.
Bounds also accepted the guilty plea of one of Franceschini's customers who appeared in the photograph. Richard Meadows, 25, of Fayetteville, W.Va., was fined $500 and ordered to pay the state $125 for the fish.
The third man in the photograph has died since the fishing trip last fall, Plasters said.
Franceschini and Meadows did not appear in court Monday. Later, neither could be reached for comment.
Known as "Spike," Franceschini made headlines two years ago when he helped a North Carolina man catch the Virginia state record striper, weighing 42 pounds, 6 ounces.
Plasters said his investigation was prompted by phone calls from area anglers upset that a fishing guide would boast about exceeding the daily limit on stripers.
"I hope this will send a message to the other sportsmen out there," Plasters said, referring to the court fines.
by CNB