Hamilton man faked mugging for Oprah tickets, police say

CHICAGO A Hamilton man beat himself up - literally - and claimed he had been mugged after failing to get seats for a taping of The Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago on Tuesday, police say.

Chicago police allege the ruse was meant to hide from his wife the fact he didn’t have tickets for the show.

Robert Spearing, 44, appeared in a Chicago court Wednesday on charges of felony disorderly conduct.

Police say they arrested a man around 3 p.m. Tuesday after he admitted to making a false report.

“He told police that he was a victim of a strong arm robbery,” said Chicago officer Laura Kubiak.

“He said he was approached by two offenders. One of the offenders struck him in the face and the other offender stole his Oprah WinfreyShow passes.

“Later (he) changed his story and said he made the whole story up because he did not want to disappoint his wife about not having Oprah tickets after travelling all the way from Canada.”