Matthew Vance Query, 34, of Mason City, Iowa, and Ronald William Frank, 31, of Mason City, Iowa, are headed to federal prison after admitting their roles in a sprawling methamphetamine distribution conspiracy that stretched from northern Iowa to Colorado.
Query pleaded guilty on August 10, 2017, and Frank on August 28, 2017, both to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. The duo admitted to trafficking the drug between 2012 and April 7, 2017, flooding communities with high-purity ice meth while evading law enforcement for years.
The operation unraveled on April 3, 2017, when search warrants were executed across multiple locations. A traffic stop on Frank’s 2005 Chevrolet Malibu turned up marijuana and a brick of ice meth weighing 378.9 grams. Inside Query’s residence, investigators found more marijuana, digital scales, packaging materials, and cash—hallmarks of a well-oiled drug enterprise. Stolen property was also recovered at Query’s home and a rented storage unit.
Court documents revealed that Query distributed more than 500 grams of actual, pure methamphetamine—a quantity that carried severe sentencing implications. Frank admitted to distributing more than 150 grams of the same high-grade drug, sealing his fate under federal mandatory minimums.
On sentencing, U.S. District Judge Linda R. Reade handed down 151 months in prison to Query and imposed a $100 special assessment. He will also serve five years of supervised release post-incarceration. Frank received 96 months behind bars, a $100 special assessment, and five years of supervised release. Neither will see parole—federal law doesn’t allow it.
Both men remain in U.S. Marshals custody, awaiting transfer to federal prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Lammers and built through joint efforts by the North Central Iowa Narcotics Task Force and the Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office. Case file 17-3026 is available via the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa’s electronic filing system. Follow updates at @USAO_NDIA.
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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