A former employee of a Missouri state prison has admitted to smuggling drugs and knives into the facility. Steven M. Reminger, aged 53, appeared in the U.S. District Court in St. Louis, where he pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge related to the distribution and possession of controlled substances, as well as attempting the possession with intent to distribute these substances.
At the time of his criminal activities, Reminger worked as an electronics technician at the Eastern Reception Diagnostic and Correctional Center in Bonne Terre, Missouri. His activities came to light following a series of inmate drug overdoses. Inmates revealed to officials that Reminger was responsible for bringing drugs into the prison. An investigation by the Missouri Department of Corrections found that Reminger used a Post Office box in Farmington, Missouri, registered under a false name, to receive the illicit substances.
According to a U.S. Postal Inspection Service inspector, Reminger secured the Post Office box on November 8, 2021, and received approximately 12 packages between November 13, 2021, and May 24, 2022. The investigation reached a breakthrough when Postal Inspectors intercepted the final package on May 25, 2022. Reminger was detained for questioning, and the package was found to contain $4,000 in cash, fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, K2, THC edibles, marijuana, knives, and cell phones, all packed in four vacuum-sealed parcels.
Reminger confessed that the $4,000 was his fee for smuggling the packages into the prison. He admitted to being "deliberately ignorant" about the contents and claimed never to have opened them or inquired about their contents.
Throughout the ongoing investigation, Reminger has disclosed that his illicit activities yielded him up to $50,000. He has surrendered $15,000 in cash, which was found at his residence. He mentioned using some of the funds to purchase a dune buggy and two trailers.
Reminger is set to receive his sentence on July 24, with each charge involving the potential for up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine, or both. The case is under the scrutiny of the Missouri Department of Corrections Office of Professional Standards, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Missouri State Highway Patrol, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Rebar leading the prosecution.