A state drug agent and former Milwaukee police officer was sentenced Thursday to six months of house arrest for taking $1,100 in an FBI sting set up to nab corrupt law enforcement.

Johnny Santiago, 51, of Pewaukee was arrested and charged in March after he was seen on camera taking money that was found by him and Milwaukee police officers during a drug investigation.

Santiago, a 32-year veteran of law enforcement, was working as a drug agent for the state Department of Justice at the time. He has since resigned.

Since Santiago's arrest, two other Milwaukee police officers have been charged in federal court with crimes connected to aiding a drug dealer. Their cases, apparently unrelated to Santiago's, are pending.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Sanders, who had known Santiago for more than 10 years from earlier cases, said his crime tarnished law enforcement's reputation. Sanders said it also hurt prosecutors' credibility when dealing with defendants.

"The effects of this case won't just go away after today," Sanders said in court. "This will continue to have an effect on the community for months and years to come."

Before his arrest by the FBI, Santiago was working on a law enforcement team investigating a sprawling drug operation with tentacles from Wisconsin to Texas.

Just 10 days before Santiago himself was arrested, he was on a team of drug agents arresting 17 defendants in that case, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Gail Hoffman, prosecutor on the drug case.

Hoffman said she has disclosed information about Santiago's crimes to the defendants' attorneys in her case. Hoffman said no charges have been dismissed as a result of the case against Santiago, but she cannot call him as a witness. Santiago was not the lead investigator in the drug case, though he traveled to Texas as part of the investigation, she said.

Besides the six-month house arrest, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman gave Santiago two years of probation, a $5,000 fine and ordered him to perform 100 hours of community service.

"This is a very serious offense that erodes trust and confidence in law enforcement," the judge said.

Adelman said he could see no financial reason for Santiago to steal the money. The presentence report found no evidence of drug, alcohol or gambling abuse. He has been married for 30 years and has two grown children.

"It is sort of hard to understand why he would do this," Adelman said.

Santiago, a member of the Milwaukee Police Department for 27 years and a state drug agent for the past five years, apologized for letting down his family, law enforcement and the community.

"I have learned from this mistake and accept responsibility for my actions," he said.

His attorney, Michael Hart, called Santiago taking the FBI plant money a "momentary lapse in judgment." He suggested that Adelman impose a year of probation.

Sanders suggested that Santiago receive prison time to send a message to other officers who might be tempted to steal money.

Federal sentencing guidelines called for zero to six months in prison. The maximum penalty was 10 years in prison.

According to court documents:

In March, Santiago and Milwaukee police officers were sent to search a vacant store on N. Teutonia Ave.

The FBI earlier planted more than $17,700 and set up hidden video cameras. Santiago was seen on camera finding the cash and then putting money in his pocket, according to documents.

A Milwaukee Police Department supervisor arrived to count the money, standard procedure when officers find large amounts of cash. It was $1,100 short. Other officers were checked, but had none of the marked bills.

FBI agents tried to follow Santiago, but he lost them. He was spotted 20 minutes later downtown.

The agents followed Santiago to a parking garage, approached him and identified themselves, but he sped away to the nearby High Intensity Drug Area Task Force office, where he worked and was arrested. He did not have the FBI's plant money.

Santiago initially denied he took the money. But the following day, he admitted he stole it, hiding it under a pallet near Marquette University.