By Joseph A. Gambardello
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Despite a plea for a lesser term, a former Camden police officer was sentenced Thursday to 46 months in federal prison for his part in a rogue drug-squad operation.
Jason Stetser, 34, was the last of four defendants to learn his fate in a case that has resulted in payouts totaling more than $3.8 million to some of those arrested by the corrupt officers.
Stetser’s attorney, Frederick W. Klepp, asked U.S. District Court Judge Robert Kugler in Camden to impose a sentence closer to the 20-month term handed down last year to ex-officer Kevin Parry, who, like Stetser, cooperated with investigators.
Kugler acknowledged Stetser’s assistance but said he deserved a stiffer penalty because he had brought Parry into the conspiracy, contributing “to the ruination of another man’s life.”
“This is an incredibly serious crime” and a betrayal of the residents of Camden, who depend on good police officers, the judge said.
Besides 46 months in prison, Kugler sentenced Stetser to two years of supervised release.
With his parents, sister, and fiancee sitting in the courtroom, Stetser, 34, apologized to all he had hurt and said, “I am ashamed of my actions.”
Stetser’s sister is in law enforcement and his father is a retired Camden police officer, Kugler noted.
The squad started off “trying to do the right thing” but “went too far,” Stetser said.
He pleaded guilty in June 2010 to conspiracy and admitted that he had planted and stolen drugs, made false arrests, and lied on reports as part of an operation that compromised narcotics arrests between May 2007 and October 2009.
Stetser cooperated with officials during the federal investigation and testified at the trial of two fellow officers.
Kugler left it up to the Bureau of Prisons to determine when and where Stetser should surrender to begin his sentence.
Of the other officers snared in the investigation, former Sgt. Dan Morris, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy, was sentenced to eight months in prison, and former Officer Antonio Figueroa, who was convicted at trial, received a 10-year term. Figueroa’s codefendant, Robert Bayard, was acquitted.
The investigation began within the Camden Police Department in summer 2008, shortly after Chief Scott Thomson took charge. The investigation later was turned over to the FBI.
The subsequent corruption charges prompted the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office to dismiss or vacate drug charges against nearly 200 people.
Last month, the City of Camden agreed to pay $3.5 million to 88 people who were released from prison after their drug convictions were thrown out as a result of the investigation.
Camden previously paid $344,000 to 11 other plaintiffs who filed suits in state court.
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