The man who was found guilty and served a prison sentence in connection with the theft of the champion mare Fanfreluche in 1977 has been charged in connection with at least three sponging incidents at Kentucky racetracks in 1996 and ’97.

An indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Louisville on May 4 charged William Michael McCandless with trying to affect the outcome of races for gambling purposes. McCandless, 51, of Hendersonville, Tenn., is scheduled to appear before a federal magistrate in Louisville on May 19. He faces a maximum 30 years in prison, a $1.5 million fine, and three years’ supervised release if convicted of the charges.

According to the indictment, McCandless engaged in interstate commerce “with the intent to tamper with one or more horses at Churchill Downs by inserting a sponge or sponges into the nasal passages of one or more horses that ran in the fourth race on May 30, 1996, the fourth race on June 8, 1997, and the first race on June 14, 1997.” The indictment stated that McCandless’ actions were an attempt “to adversely affect performance so as to gain an advantage in gambling on the outcome of the races.”

The actions allegedly committed by McCandless “caused the transmission of wire, radio, and television communications in interstate commerce when the betting odds for those races were simulcast to racetracks in other states