A 44-year-old former corrections officer at a California medical facility pleaded guilty earlier this year to bribery charges related to programs receiving federal funds and will be sentenced in September.
Stephen Joseph Crittenden, of Suisun City, pleaded guilty April 11 in federal court in Sacramento, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert said in a news release.
According to court documents, Crittenden worked at CMF, a state prison located at 1600 California Drive in Vacaville. Between 2021 and 2023, he accepted bribes totaling more than $45,000 to smuggle cell phones into the medical facility, noted Talbert, who heads the U.S. Justice Department’s Eastern District of California.
As previously reported, a federal grand jury indicted Crittenden on September 14, 2023. He was arrested by the FBI, jailed, but later released and remains out of custody.
U.S. Judge Troy L. Nunley is scheduled to sentence Crittenden on Sept. 12. Crittenden faces a maximum prison term of 10 years and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court and in accordance with federal sentencing guidelines, which take into account a number of variables, Talbert said in the prepared statement.
The case is the result of an investigation by the FBI, with assistance from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas M. Fogg is leading the prosecution.
Originally published:
