A federal judge has ordered a former Meriden bank president to serve six years in federal prison for planning to steal $1 million from the bank.

Scott D. Becker, of Meriden, pleaded guilty in October to two conspiracy counts, one to commit bank employee theft and one to commit perjury, wire fraud and money laundering.

In his plea, Becker said the crimes began in 1999 when he was president and CEO of Countryside Bank, formerly Meriden State Bank, in western Jefferson County.

Becker said he used his knowledge of internal bank operations to steal more than $1 million for personal use by creating a series of legal entities, including trucking and farming operations.

After he was fired in 2003 from the bank, which had a negative net worth, and the FBI began investigating, prosecutors say Becker developed a scheme to liquidate, transfer and conceal his assets, including selling property in Finney County and buying a corporation in Panama to transfer assets to offshore accounts and buying a 42-foot yacht.

The former bank vice president Stephanie R. Smith has pleaded guilty to concealing the scheme from federal investigators. Her sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 24. A third co-defendant, Michael Wurm, has a change of plea hearing scheduled for Jan. 3.