ST. LOUIS - An employee who admitted to smuggling drugs into a Missouri state prison has been sentenced in court Tuesday.

Steven M. Reminger, 53, worked as a technician for Eastern Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center, located in Bonne Terre, Missouri.

On Nov. 8, 2021, a Postal Inspection Service inspector found out that Reminger received 12 packages between November 2021 and May 2022.

He was not taken to the police until May 25, 2022, where Postal Inspectors became skeptical and began to investigate what was happening at the prison.

When inspectors began to uncover what was hidden, they made an unexpected discovery.

In the sealed packages, inspectors found about $4,000 in cash, fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, K2, knives, cell phones and marijuana.

Reminger told detectives that it was “possible” that the sealed packages brought in caused inmate overdoses when questioned about the items. However, he admitted to being unaware of the items in the packages.

From the scheme, Reminger claimed he made no more than $50,000. Reminger also turned over $15,000 in cash to investigators, but court documents say the rest of the funds he gained were spent on a dune buggy and two trailers.

Reminger pleaded guilty in April 2025 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances and one count of attempting to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances. 

He will remain in prison for 87 months, court documents say.