A California prison warden left his job last fall after he stole from an Amador County thrift store, according to a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation investigation.

Former Mule Creek State Prison warden Joe Lizarraga, 56, of Fair Oaks, retired in September while he was being investigated for theft and an attempted cover-up, according to a corrections department report The Sacramento Bee recently obtained under the California Public Records Act.

The department placed Lizarraga on administrative leave early in its investigation, raising a swirl of questions in the small communities of Ione and Sutter Creek where the prison is a major employer. His departure was documented in a local newspaper and on TV news.

In December, three months after his resignation, the corrections department finished its investigation, which concluded Lizarraga’s dishonesty, theft and “failure of good behavior” warranted firing.

“The department immediately opened an investigation as soon as CDCR became aware of the allegations against former Mule Creek State Prison Warden Joe Lizarraga, which was conducted by the Office of Internal Affairs,” CDCR spokeswoman Dana Simas said in an email. “The investigation concluded in December 2019 and as a result, CDCR sustained that there had been instances of dishonesty and theft that would have been grounds to terminate Lizarraga’s employment.”

Lizarraga was making about $150,000 per year, according to The Sacramento Bee’s state worker pay database.

When he left the job, he received $433,000 in unused vacation, leave time, holiday and weekend pay and other special pay he had accrued, according to Simas. Lizarraga worked at four other state prisons, starting as a correctional officer at San Quentin State Prison in 1986, before he started as a chief deputy administrator at Mule Creek in 2011, according to Simas.

The investigation centered on a Sept. 14, 2018 incident at Interfaith Food Bank Thrift Store in Sutter Creek, according to the report.

Lizarraga removed price tags from winter equipment in the store and then suggested lower prices to a cashier, according to the report.

The Sutter Creek Police Department investigated, according to the report.

Lizarraga lied to Sutter Creek Police Department Chief James O’Connell, telling him he didn’t suggest prices for the items, according to the report. Lizarraga also told O’Connell he purchased the equipment for his family, when in fact it was for his own personal financial gain, according to the report.

About two weeks after he visited the store, Lizarraga wrote a personal money order for $125 to dissuade a witness from participating in his criminal prosecution, according to the report.

On Dec. 24, 2018, he made another bribe attempt using charitable funds from the prison, according to the report.

The CDCR report doesn’t say whether Lizarraga was criminally charged.

O’Connell didn’t respond to voicemails, nor did the Amador County District Attorney’s Office. Lizarraga did not respond to attempts to reach him by phone.

Interfaith Food Bank Executive Director Beth Stanton declined to discuss the events when reached Monday.

The investigation report provided to The Bee is heavily redacted. It shows CDCR investigated 16 allegations against Lizarraga, but 11 of them are blacked out.

The report was provided to The Bee under Senate Bill 1421, a 2018 change to California law that expanded access to records related to wrongdoing by police and custodial officers. The law designates specific conduct for which records may be disclosed, including uses of force, sexual assault and dishonesty related to criminal investigations.

The report found Lizarraga’s misconduct was premeditated and “committed with malicious intent or for personal gain.” During the investigation he was “evasive, dishonest or intentionally misleading,” the report states.

“The employee knew or should have known that his actions were inappropriate,” the report states.

Lizarraga earned $164,000 per year in 2018, with a base salary of $156,000, according to state pay data.

He is now collecting an $11,500-per-month pension, according to CalPERS.

This story was originally published March 10, 2020 at 9:47 AM.