In a ruling that cements the consequences of corruption, Wayne I. Kacher, Jr., a Baltimore County business owner, was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison for his involvement in a bribery scheme. U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher handed down the sentence after a jury convicted Kacher on charges of conspiracy, honest services wire fraud, and federal program bribery, as detailed in an announcement from Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland.
Kacher, 52, hailing from Harford County, was implicated in a case that exposed the darker dealings between public contracts and private gains. As the top man at Bel Air Underground, Inc. (BAU), his company banked over $11 million between 2014 and 2018 from the Maryland Broadband Cooperative (MdBC) for work on broadband network projects. However, the partnership was tainted by under-the-table dealings with William Patrick Mitchell, the president and chief executive officer of MdBC, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
The MdBC, which was conceptualized to extend broadband internet service to Maryland’s underserved communities, faltered under the weight of Mitchell's and Kacher's fraudulent activities. Payments for an all-terrain vehicle, a John Deere Gator, and home renovations, including erecting a pole building, were amongst the kickbacks Mitchell received from Kacher. In exchange, BAU enjoyed a steady stream of subcontracted work, amounting to millions of dollars, most notable of which was the improvement of a fiber-optic broadband connection pivotal for the communications capabilities between NASA Wallops Island and Patuxent River Naval Air Station.
Kacher's co-conspirator, Mitchell, was previously sentenced on October 7, 2024, to just over a year in prison for his role in the bribery scheme. This development underscores an ongoing commitment by federal agencies to dismantle and dissuade corrupt practices within public-serving entities. In acknowledgment of the investigative efforts, U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service for their diligent work, with special recognition given to Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew P. Phelps and Christine Goo, who prosecuted the case.
