COEUR d'ALENE - It's one thing to hide online behind a veil of anonymity.

It's quite another to pretend to be someone else.

Somebody impersonated Kootenai County Commissioner Todd Tondee in the comments section of cdapress.com on Tuesday - a crime that could land the perpetrator in jail for up to two years, with a fine of $5,000. And that doesn't include possible civil penalties.

Tondee told The Press Friday that he isn't sure he wants his impersonator to end up in jail, but he does want the person to step forward. He said he would probably be satisfied if the person takes full responsibility and makes a $500 donation to a local charity.

Tondee also wants the public to know definitively that he did not write the acerbic comments that appeared in his name below an online story Tuesday.

The impostor created an online account under the screen name "Todd_Tondee" and proceeded to comment under a story about the controversial Unified Land Use Code hearing that occurred Monday evening.

Pretending to be Tondee, the poster called critics of the land use proposal a bunch of "thugs," and in a condescending, arrogant tone, the impostor insinuated that the meeting attendees were uneducated as well.

Upon learning the comment was not Tondee's, The Press removed the comment and clarified the comment was made by an impostor.

Tondee reported the alleged crime to the Coeur d'Alene Police Department on Thursday because some people still believe he wrote it.

"Really what I want is the public to know that I didn't write that comment," he said Friday, explaining that even after the comment was removed he is getting emails about the comments.

"I am getting emails from folks and almost every one of them start out saying: 'IF you really didn't say that ...'" he explained. "That's a pretty good indication that some people still believe I may have written that."

Coeur d'Alene Police Sgt. Brandon McCormick said the report was assigned to a detective on Friday, and the matter will be investigated.

McCormick said Idaho Code 18-3001 makes False Personation a crime punishable by up to two years in jail and up to $5,000 in fines.

Coeur d'Alene Press Managing Editor Mike Patrick and Mike Alexander, who manages Coeur d'Alene Press online division, have discussed the issue and will fully cooperate with the investigation.

"We agreed that this isn't an issue where the newspaper needs to protect an anonymous source," Patrick said. "A criminal act likely took place, and we look forward to it being prosecuted."

Patrick said The Press does not have the name of the suspect, but it does have the Internet Protocol address and other information that Alexander will provide to the police.

The Press does make every effort to defend the right of citizens to speak out, Patrick said, but the law must be followed in cases like these, where the anonymous online world is coupled with traditional journalism.