CEDAR RAPIDS – A Waterloo woman meth trafficker was sentenced February 4, 2026, to 20 years in federal prison.
Michelle Bruno (pictured at top), age 51, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 7, 2025, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that, in May 2024, Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force investigators made a controlled delivery of methamphetamine to Bruno. After the delivery, Bruno was in possession of four pounds of methamphetamine that she received during the controlled delivery and two additional ounces. Bruno had received approximately twelve pounds of methamphetamine over the past several months from her source of supply. She also sent over $25,000 to her source of supply. A few months later, investigators had contact with Bruno again. She admitted to acquiring another kilogram of methamphetamine and that she had paid her source of supply over $5,000 to satisfy her debt.
Bruno was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Bruno was sentenced to 240 months’ imprisonment. She must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Bruno is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hudson and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Mid-Iowa Drug Task Force, the Iowa State Patrol, and the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force, consisting of the
Waterloo Police Department, Cedar Falls Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Department, Evansdale Police Department, Waverly Police Department, Hudson Police Department, La Porte City Police Department, and the Bremer County Sheriff’s Office.