The U.S. Attorney for Iowa’s northern district says the bust of a major meth-making operation in the Sioux City area has resulted in the convictions of 23 people and as of this morning, 16 of them have been sentenced.

U.S. Attorney Matt Dummermuth says a Sioux City man was making the meth and the others were buying or stealing the ingredients.

"There was one cook in this case who was actually cooking almost daily for eight months," Dummermuth says. "There’s about 25 or 30 other people who would bring the pseudoephedrine to him as well as the anhydrous (ammonia) and other ingredients."

Pseudoephedrine is the main ingredient in meth and it comes from cold medicines that are available for sale in Iowa, but they’re stored behind the counter and you have to sign a log book to purchase those items.

"Because of the law passed in 2005 it’s much harder to get pseudoephedrine," Dummermuth says. "You can only get it legally in small quantities and so smurfing means in order to get enough of it in order to manufacture the meth in home-grown labs, you need more people to go out and get those smaller quantities from pharmacies in order to get enough of it and that’s called smurfing."

According to Dummermuth, 46-year-old Anthony Grenier of Sioux City was the meth "cook" and 25 to 30 people went out buying the pills with pseudoephedrine that he needed to make the stuff. Grenier pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to 274 months in prison. The U.S. Attorney says this is the largest meth-making ring ever prosecuted in northern Iowa, as 23 individuals were caught in the investigation.

"They received sentences of between three years and 23 years this week," Dummermuth says. "A total of 16 have been sentenced already and there are seven more to be sentenced."

According to the Woodbury County Sheriff, homemade meth production is on the rise because there’s less methamphetamine being shipped into Iowa and the price of meth has gone up. 

Below is detailed information from the U.S. Attorney’s office, listing who’ve been convicted and sentenced in this "smurfing" investigation in the Sioux City area.

ANTHONY GRENIER, age 46, and ANGELA WALTERS, age 33, both of Sioux City, received their prison terms after pleading guilty to one count of conspiring to manufacture more than 50 grams of actual methamphetamine. JOSHUA BROWN, age 27, LIBBY DICKES, age 30, JOHN PROVOST, age 39, NATHAN DEWALL, age 21, SCHAUNA CARSON, age 36, and JOEY JOHNSON, age 33, all of Sioux City, and JONATHAN BUSH, age 23 of Salix, Iowa, received their prison terms after pleading guilty to one count of conspiring to manufacture more than 5 grams of actual methamphetamine. JON STOLPE, age 40, KELLY SACHAU, age 25, JANELLE BERTHA BROWN, age 24, WILLIAM DIBLE, age 56, and RONALD LEWISON, age 31, all of Sioux City, received their prison terms after pleading guilty to one count of conspiring to manufacture methamphetamine.GRENIER’s co-defendants participated in the process in various ways. DEWALL obtained pills and used others to obtain pseudoephedrine pills he later provided to GRENIER. DEWALL did "perimeter checks" while GRENIER made meth and obtained anhydrous and other items needed for the manufacture of methamphetamine. DICKES obtained pills and helped to obtain anhydrous on at least one occasion. SACHAU, LEWIS, DIBLE, WALTERS, PROVOST, JOSHUA BROWN, JANELLE BROWN, CARSON, BUSH and JOHNSON all provided pills directly or indirectly to GRENIER in exchange for finished methamphetamine, and STOLPE provided pills to be used in the manufacture of methamphetamine. Each of the defendants in the conspiracy was aware GRENIER was manufacturing meth and each helped in the operation.

SACHAU, LEWISON, and DIBLE were sentenced April 27, 2009. PROVOST, JOSHUA BROWN, JANELLE BROWN, CARSON, GRENIER, STOLPE, BUSH, JOHNSON, DEWALL, and DICKES were sentenced April 28, 2009. WALTERS was sentenced April 29, 2009. All were sentenced in United States District Court in Sioux City, Iowa, by United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade.

The sentences were as follows:

GREINER – 274 months’ imprisonment and 10 years’ supervised release

SACHAU – 57 months’ imprisonment and 6 years’ supervised release

LEWISON – 70 months’ imprisonment and 3 years’ supervised release

DIBLE – 91 months’ imprisonment; $12,500 fine and 3 years’ supervised release

PROVOST – 150 months’ imprisonment and 4 years’ supervised release

JOSHUA BROWN – 102 months’ imprisonment and 8 years’ supervised release

JANELLE BROWN – 57 months’ imprisonment and 3 years’ supervised release

CARSON – 60 months’ imprisonment and 4 years’ supervised release

STOLPE – 41 months’ imprisonment and 6 years’ supervised release

BUSH – 37 months’ imprisonment and 5 years’ supervised release

JOHNSON – 90 months’ imprisonment and 8 years’ supervised release

DEWALL – 108 months’ imprisonment and 4 years’ supervised release

DICKES – 59 months’ imprisonment and 4 years’ supervised release

WALTERS – 85 months’ imprisonment and 5 years’ supervised release

There is no parole in the federal system. All were ordered to pay a $100 special assessment.

GRENIER was previously convicted of a felony drug offense in July 2002 in Story County, Iowa; SACHAU was previously convicted of a felony drug offense in November 2006 in Dakota County, Nebraska; STOLPE was previously convicted of a felony drug offense in August 1991 in Woodbury County, Iowa; JOHNSON was previously convicted of a felony drug offense in March 2007 in Woodbury County, Iowa; and JOSHUA BROWN was previously convicted of a felony drug offense in November 2003 in Monona County, Iowa.MICHAEL BREAMAN and JAMIE WEBSTER were sentenced on March 23, 2009, for their roles in this conspiracy. BREAMAN, age 44, from Sioux City, was sentenced to 278 months’ imprisonment and 10 years’ supervised release. WEBSTER, age 19, from Sioux City, was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment and 3 years’ supervised release. Seven additional defendants (KRIS ANDERSON, age 30, from South Sioux City, DEB FABER, age 47, from South Sioux City, CHARLES FOX, age 32, from Sioux City, MICHAEL KLUGE, age 38, from Sioux City, SHAIN MALLOY, age 39, from Sioux City, JERAMIE FREDERICK, age 32, from Sioux City, and SCOTT TAYLOR, age 33, from Sioux City,) have either pled guilty or were convicted at trial and are awaiting sentencing. KLUGE, who was convicted at trial, faces a possible sentence of life in prison.