(Cedar Rapids, IA) -- A Dubuque brother and sister are accused of selling hundreds of pounds of meth, near schools and playgrounds between 2019 and 2022. Jacob Demaio (42) and Lyn Demaio (35) have pleaded guilty in federal court in Cedar Rapids. Investigators say buyers dropped off hundreds of thousands of dollars at stash houses, to pay for the drugs. They also say once when Jacob Demaio was in jail, his sister took over the operation, and gambled away 25-thousand dollars of drug money in Las Vegas.
At plea hearings, Jacob and Codi Demaio admitted that they conspired to distribute at least 500 grams of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine, and at least 50 grams or more of actual (pure) methamphetamine, within 1,000 feet of a protected location.
Sentencing is pending. For conspiring to distribute methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a protected location, both Jacob and Codi Demaio face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and the following maximum penalties: not more than life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; a fine of not more than $20,000,000; a mandatory special assessment of $100; and a term of supervised release of at least 10 years and up to life.