SALISBURY, MD - The former CEO of Salisbury-based nonprofit Maryland Broadband Cooperative (MdBC) has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and honest services wire fraud stemming from a federal investigation into bribery.
MdBC, according to the Department of Justice, works with internet service providers to bring broadband internet to under-served and unserved areas in Maryland. As President and CEO of MdBC, William Patrick Mitchell, 58, accepted bribes from a subcontractor from 2014 to 2018, the DOJ says.
According to the DOJ, MdBC paid Bell Air Underground, located in Baltimore County, more than $11 million as a subcontractor for broadband network related work during that four year period. About $7.9 million of that went towards work installing a fiber optic broadband connection from NASA Wallops Island to Patuxent River Naval Station in St. Mary’s County.
The Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office says Bel Air Underground’s owner, Wayne Kacher, 51, of Hardord County, provided Mitchell with financial kickbacks in exchange for the subcontracting work. Those financial benefits included cash payments, vehicle payments, and home renovations and improvements, according to prosecutors, which Mitchell accepted.
On May 10th, Mitchell pleaded guilty to Conspiracy and Honest Services Wire Fraud. His sentencing is expected in October.
On Tuesday, May 21st, Kacher was found guilty after a seven-day trial of conspiring to commit honest services wire fraud and bribery, honest services wire fraud, and bribery involving federal funds. Kacher faces a maximum sentence of 5 years for conspiracy, 20 years for honest services wire fraud, and a maximum of 10 years for federal program bribery. His sentencing has yet to be scheduled.
