Las Vegas Man Pleads Guilty to Iowa Meth Conspiracy

James Conlan, 58, from Las Vegas, Nevada, pled guilty on January 25, 2023, in federal court in Sioux City, Iowa, to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

At the plea hearing, Conlan admitted that between January 2021 and December 2021, he and others were involved in a conspiracy that distributed more than a kilogram of methamphetamine.  Conlan further admitted that he shipped methamphetamine from Las Vegas, Nevada, via U.S. mail, to an address in Cherokee, Iowa. 

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Conlan remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Conlan faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement, U.S. Postal Service, Department of Homeland Security, Iowa DCI Laboratory, Iowa State Patrol, Colorado State Patrol, and the Cherokee Iowa Police Department. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 22-4049.  Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.