Agent accused of falsifying license

Associated Press

CINCINNATI

A Department of Natural Resources wildlife officer was indicted Wednesday on federal charges accusing him of helping a South Carolina hunter illegally obtain an Ohio-resident deer license at a discount that saved him about $105.

Allan Wright of Russellville was charged Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati with trafficking in and making false records for illegally harvested white-tailed deer, state and federal authorities said.

The 45-year-old Wright was being placed on immediate unpaid administrative leave, the department said. Phone and email messages seeking comment were left for his attorney after business hours Wednesday.

Investigators have said Wright illegally let a South Carolina wildlife official use his home address in 2006 to receive a $19 Ohio license instead of paying the $125 out-of-state fee. They said the hunter killed three deer, Wright processed them as legally obtained, and the hunter transported the deer to South Carolina.

He had been charged last year in Brown County in southwest Ohio with state charges of record tampering and falsification, charges that were later dropped.