Indictment: Police Officers Tried to Out Undercover Investigator at Poker Game

U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Kansas
18 January 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WICHITA, KAN. – Two Wichita police officers and a gambling operator tried to out an undercover investigator at a poker game, a federal indictment unsealed today alleges.

Three men are charged with obstructing a criminal investigation, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said. Bruce Mackey, 45, Goddard, Kan., a Wichita police officer, Michael Zajkowski, 50, Wichita, Kan., who is no longer a Wichita police officer, and Brock Wedman, 48, St. Marys, Kan., are charged with one count of obstructing law enforcement. In addition, Wedman is charged with lying to the FBI about the incident.

The indictment alleges that Wedman and a co-conspirator operated a gambling business and sponsored an illegal poker game on Feb. 12, 2014, in Wichita. When Wedman began to suspect there was an undercover officer at the game, he wanted to know if the car the man was driving belonged to the city of Wichita.

Wedman and a co-conspirator asked Zajkowski and Mackey, both of whom were Wichita police officers at that time, for help. Zajkowski and Macey made a series of calls and sent texts attempting to use police resources to determine who owned the car. They gave Wedman reason to believe an undercover officer was present and they confirmed his car was registered to the City of Wichita and in service to the Wichita Police Department.

When the FBI interviewed Wedman in February 2017, he falsely denied he gave the co-defendants the license plate number and VIN number of the car and asked them to find out who owned it.

Upon conviction, both counts carry a penalty of up to five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The Wichita Police Department. the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Smith and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mona Furst are prosecuting.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The indictments merely contain allegations of criminal conduct.