Former Prison Employee Sentenced for Smuggling Drugs into Bonne Terre Facility

Bonne Terre, Mo. (KFMO) - A former employee at the Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center (ERDCC) in Bonne Terre has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison after admitting to smuggling drugs into the facility.

53-year-old Steven M. Reminger pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and one count of attempting to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.

.Reminger worked as an electronics technician at the prison. The case began after inmates told investigators about drug smuggling in the wake of several overdose deaths inside the prison. One inmate reported that Reminger was mailing drugs to a Farmington post office box under a fake name.

Postal inspectors said Reminger received 12 packages between November 2021 and May 2022. On May 25, 2022, U.S. Postal Inspectors intercepted a package containing $4,000 in cash, fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, synthetic marijuana (K2), THC edibles, marijuana, knives, and cell phones. Reminger admitted the cash was payment for his role in the smuggling operation.

After his arrest, Reminger turned over $15,000 he had profited and told investigators he had used drug proceeds to buy a dune buggy and two trailers. He also admitted that while he suspected the packages may have been tied to inmate overdoses, he dismissed concerns, saying, “ignorance is bliss.”

On Tuesday, Reminger was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison.