Macon woman pleads guilty in gang racketeering case

A 42-year-old Macon woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to her part in a bail bond kickback scam fueled by money stolen in fraudulent credit card transactions.

Denise Krieger pleaded guilty to racketeering and violating the state's Criminal Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act during a Bibb County Superior Court hearing.

She was sentenced to 20 years, 12 of them in prison.

Prosecutor Myra Tisdale said Krieger, while working for 1-800 FLOWERS, created a log of customers' credit card information.

When authorities served a search warrant on her home, they found data on several hundred accounts.

Krieger and her co-conspirators used the credit cards to apply money to inmates' accounts at the Bibb County jail, Tisdale said.

Inmates used the money to pay phone fees, for commissary and care package items, and for bonds to get out of jail. Once released, the inmates paid the remainder refunded from their account balances to Krieger and other co-conspirators, Tisdale said.

Prosecutor John Regan said authorities found gang paraphernalia when searching Krieger's house, including a copy of the "Crips Book of Knowledge," a history of the gang.

They also found photos of Krieger and her family posing in blue, the Crips' signature color, throwing gang signs and holding weapons.

One photo showed one of Krieger's children, a boy under 10, posing with a handgun.

Another son, Kodie Thomas Frank DiDiego, pleaded guilty in March to racketeering and violating the state's Criminal Street Gang Terrorism and Prevention Act for his part in the scheme. He was sentenced to 15 years, eight of them in prison.

Kreiger apologized during the hearing, to law enforcement, prosecutors, her family and the credit card holders.

To contact writer Amy Leigh Womack, call 744-4398 or find her on Twitter @awomackmacon.

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 10:15 PM with the headline "Macon woman pleads guilty in gang racketeering case ."