PITTSBURGH (AP) — The second of two brothers who co-owned a western Pennsylvania high-tech defense contracting firm has pleaded guilty to defrauding the government and conspiring to avoid paying income taxes.
Fifty-one-year-old Ronald Kuchera, of Johnstown, pleaded guilty before a federal judge Tuesday and will be sentenced Oct. 7, when he faces 30 to 37 months in prison. Besides that penalty, Kuchera will wind up paying more than $1.5 million in fines, restitution and other monetary penalties.
The company he co-owned with his brother, William, who also pleaded guilty Tuesday, was allegedly paid $650,000 to produce high-tech defense components, but it produced nothing. Instead their company kicked back $200,000 to a prime contractor who gave them the work.
