ST. LOUIS — Former County Executive Steve Stenger, who reported to prison last month to serve a 46-month prison sentence, is scheduled to be released after just 27 months, according to the Bureau of Prisons.
The prison system’s shows Stenger’s release date is Dec. 27, 2021.
Lawyers say the process by which prison officials calculate sentences is opaque and complicated. Officials declined to comment this week on questions about Stenger, citing privacy reasons. But they said inmates can shave up to 54 days a year off their sentence through “good conduct,†and can earn up to 12 months off by completing the intensive Residential Drug Abuse Program.
U.S. District Judge Catherine Perry had rejected defense lawyer Scott Rosenblum’s request for a recommendation to the program at Stenger’s sentencing hearing in August, saying that while there was evidence of alcohol use, there was no evidence of drug use.
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Prison say there has to be a “substantiated diagnosis for a substance use disorder†to be approved, which can include alcohol or drugs.
Rosenblum said Friday that Stenger’s participation in the program had been approved by prison officials based on information in a pre-sentence report. That report is not public.
When Dr. Sam Page took over for Stenger after his resignation, staff removed party lights and seven boxes of alcohol from Stenger’s old office. A letter to Perry sent by county council members before Stenger’s sentencing says that when Stenger bothered to show up in his office, he arrived late wearing shorts, a T-shirt and a baseball cap. He then spent much of his time playing video games before leaving early, the letter says.
Rosenblum said Stenger may be able to get even more time off under the , but the prison system is still working on making those charges.
He said Stenger would be released to a halfway house, where he would spend up to six months. Rosenblum said that the reductions are routine and available to any inmate who qualifies, and Stenger’s reductions appear to be assumed in the prison system’s calculation. If he does not behave in prison, or fails to complete the treatment program, his sentencing reductions would disappear.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith, who prosecuted Stenger, said Friday that, “We had no knowledge of this. We were not consulted about this,†after learning about the prison system’s calculation. Goldsmith said, “He should serve the entire sentence.â€
Council member Tim Fitch, R-3rd District, said, “That’s way too light for the crime he committed.†He added that his constituents would probably feel the same way.
Fitch, a former St. Louis County police chief, said Stenger did not just commit a property crime, he committed “a crime against the taxpayers of the county.â€
Fitch, who attended the sentencing hearing, said Stenger “claimed he was an alcoholic, as all white-collar defendants do.â€
“It wasn’t unusual for Steve Stenger to be out until 2, 3, 4 in the morning,†Fitch said, “so maybe he is.â€
Stenger is at a turned minimum security prison camp in Yankton, South Dakoka, about 600 miles from St. Louis.
Exterior of federal prison camp in Yankton, S. D. Photo via Google Earth
Stenger, a Democrat, was indicted in federal court in May and resigned then pleaded guilty to three counts of honest services fraud days later. He admitted a series of schemes to reward campaign donors with official actions. He was sentenced in August and fined $250,000. He had already paid $130,000 in restitution.
Goldsmith called Stenger’s criminal conduct “breathtaking in its scope†at the sentencing hearing, during which he said Stenger should get no break from the recommended guidelines of 37 to 46 months.
Stenger’s former chief of staff, Bill Miller, 54, was sentenced to 15 months in prison.
Sheila Sweeney, the former chief executive of the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, got probation and a $20,000 fine.
Stenger donor John Rallo, 54, is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 11 after he pleaded guilty to three charges of honest services fraud. He could face 21 to 27 months in prison.
Rallo admitted donating tens of thousands of dollars to Stenger after receiving a promise from Stenger that he would receive county business in return. He also recruited other donors and held Stenger fundraisers.
A Rallo company then received a “sham†$130,000 marketing contract in 2016. In 2017, Rallo and business partners were allowed to buy two county-owned industrial parks in Wellston for below their appraised price.
