Prison Boss Took Nearly $100K To Smuggle Contraband In Monterey County, Feds Say

SAN JOSE, CA — A former California prison lieutenant admitted Tuesday that he accepted nearly $100,000 to smuggle contraband into a state prison, according to federal prosecutors.

Matthew L. Madsen, 40, of Greenfield, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to bring prohibited items into Salinas Valley State Prison over a two-year period while working as a correctional lieutenant, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced.

According to his plea agreement, Madsen worked for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from 2017 to 2025 and supervised prison yards with roughly 1,000 inmates and 200 staff members.

Federal prosecutors said Madsen accepted more than $95,000 in cash and wire transfers from January 2023 through February 2025 in exchange for smuggling contraband for an inmate and another person outside the prison.

Prosecutors said the contraband included cellphones, which inmates can use to coordinate violent attacks and other illegal activity inside prison.

The FBI and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation investigated the case.

Madsen pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, prosecutors said. He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 9, 2027, before U.S. District Judge Noël Wise.

He faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, authorities said.