CEDAR RPAIDS – An Iowa brother and sister who conspired with each other to distribute methamphetamine were sentenced to federal prison.
Jacob Patrick Demaio, age 42, and Codi Lyn Demaio, age 35, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after both pled guilty on July 6, 2023, to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance near a protected location.
From August 2019 through January 2022, both Demaios were involved in a conspiracy to distribute hundreds of pounds of “ice” methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school. There were several residences used by the brother and sister to store and traffic the “ice” methamphetamine in Dubuque and elsewhere.
Evidence at a prior hearing showed that Jacob Demaio sold hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine to multiple people between 2019 and 2022. Drug customers dropped off hundreds of thousands of dollars at the various “stash” houses. That money was intended to be given to Jacob Demaio.
Evidence also showed that Codi Demaio sold pounds of methamphetamine to several people in Dubuque between 2019 and 2022. On occasions when her brother was incarcerated, she took over his drug operation and sold pounds of methamphetamine. She was once instructed to go to California with $25,000 to buy drugs, though she instead traveled to Las Vegas and lost all the money.
Jacob and Codi were sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Jacob Demaio was sentenced to 306 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a 10-year term of supervised release after the prison term. Codi Demaio was sentenced to 172 months and 27 days of imprisonment and must serve a 10-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Jacob and Codi are being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until they can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Devra T. Hake and Nicole L. Nagin and 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 Dubuque Drug Task Force, Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, Dubuque Police Department, Quad City Metropolitan Enforcement Group, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Criminalistics Laboratory.
