Wausau Man Sentenced for Possession of Fentanyl

Thursday, December 4th, 2025 -- 10:01 AM

Chadwick M. Elgersma, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Christopher Harter, 49, Wausau, Wisconsin, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Comley to 7 years in federal prison for possessing 40 grams or more of fentanyl with intent to distribute.

This prison term will be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Harter also pleaded guilty to this charge yesterday. In February 2025, investigators with the Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force identified Harter as a heroin dealer in the Wausau, Wisconsin, area.

Investigators also determined that Harter frequently traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to purchase heroin that he would then sell in the Wausau area. On March 7, 2025, investigators stopped a car in which Harter was a passenger as it returned to Wausau from Milwaukee.

Investigators located 80.3 grams of a fentanyl and heroin mixture in Harter’s pocket. Investigators executed a search of Harter’s apartment on the same day. There, investigators located more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, a drug ledger, a digital scale, and drug paraphernalia.

At sentencing, Judge Conley noted Harter’s long-standing history of selling drugs and prior convictions for drug related conduct. Judge Conley also noted that Harter continued to degrade his community by selling drugs.

The charges against Harter were the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI’s Central Wisconsin Narcotics Task Force with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor L. Kraus prosecuted this case.

Federal criminal cases involving narcotics are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

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