An Egg Harbor Township man charged with witness-tampering for his social media posts related to the April Kauffman case is set to be sentenced next month.
John Kachbalian pleaded guilty to witness tampering April 4, according to court records.
Kachbalian is a former member of the Pagan Motorcycle Club and was a friend of Ferdinand Augello, who is now serving a life sentence in the killing of Kauffman, a local radio host and veterans advocate.
He was jailed after several Facebook posts, which included listing the state's witnesses under the "Rat Roster" and posting a naked photo of Augello's former wife, Beverly Augello, who pleaded guilty to a drug charge in the case and later testified against her former husband.
“Guess which ‘Lying Rat’ this is,” he wrote. “Hint, this (expletive) while out on bail for Murder Conspiracy and Drug Racketeering Case and after she agreed to snitch on her ex-husband, got arrested in April for cocaine, but through the help of her handlers at ACPO & FBI no mention in local news. In and out of confinement nice and quite. Even the one sided judge had no issue with her bail. Street justice at it’s best.”
At Kachbalian's first detention hearing last year, Superior Court Judge Bernard DeLury called the posts a "clarion call" to other Pagans and their supporters to deal with those "rats" who would come out against Augello.
Kachbalian was ordered to shut down his social media and was kept jailed at that time. His release was granted after Augello's trial ended with him convicted on all counts.
No announcement was made of the plea or the terms of the agreement.
The charges could have given him enough time to spend the rest of his life in prison, DeLury previously said in court.
First-degree witness tampering carries a possible 20-year sentence for the 56-year-old man who has health issues with 10 years of parole ineligibility.
The sentencing is scheduled for May 16, according to court records.
