But tongue-in-cheek prosecutors in Ohio's Butler County accuse the rodent of deliberately misleading the public.

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The homepage of the Butler County, Ohio, prosecutor's office, which Gmoser heads, prominently features alerts against scammers.

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For example, Butler County was Iowa's third-worst-hit county in 2008, but no bond dollars were spent within its borders.

WSJ: 'Disaster Bonds' Miss Their Mark

Butler County Prosecutor Mike Gmoser said Punxsutawney Phil has a "defense with teeth in it" since the animal's handler is taking the blame.

NPR: Ohio Prosecutor Drops Charge Against Pa. Groundhog

Butler County, Ohio, prosecutor Mike Gmoser told the AP that he's reconsidering the charges in light of the new evidence and may issue a full pardon.

NPR: Pa. Groundhog's Handler Taking Blame For Forecast

Shafts from old mines lie under the region, said Butler County commissioner William L. McCarrier, who worked as a water well driller in the area during the 1970s.

NPR: Cause Of Off-Color, Fetid Water Eludes Pa. Town

"Punxsutawney Phil did purposely, and with prior calculation and design, cause the people to believe that spring would come early, " wrote Mike Gmoser, Butler County prosecutor, in an official-looking paper.

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"Truly, I have really serious work to do in Butler County, " he said from his office in Hamilton, some 25 miles north of Cincinnati, even as snowflakes dropped from the skies.

NPR: Ohio Prosecutor Drops Charge Against Pa. Groundhog