Three Cedar County men are headed to federal prison after admitting their roles in a methamphetamine manufacturing conspiracy that poisoned small-town Iowa with toxic labs and illegal drug production. The operation, rooted in Lowden and Manley, has ended in federal convictions with stiff sentences meant to send a message.
Telly Ranzenberger, 42, of Lowden, Iowa, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison. Brian Hagen, 43, also of Lowden, received 48 months behind bars. In a separate but related case, Tracey McGhghy, 48, from Manley, Iowa, was hit with a 90-month sentence — more than seven years — for his part in the conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine.
All three men pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, admitting they knowingly joined a criminal agreement to cook and distribute meth. At their plea hearings, each defendant confirmed direct involvement in the illicit production of the highly addictive stimulant, a crime that carries severe penalties under federal law due to the dangers of meth labs and widespread community harm.
Ranzenberger and Hagen were sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Senior Judge Mark W. Bennett. McGhghy appeared before Judge Leonard T. Strand, also in Cedar Rapids. Each defendant will serve a mandatory 3-year term of supervised release following their prison time. There is no parole in the federal system — once sentenced, they serve nearly every day.
The prosecutions were handled by Assistant United States Attorney Ravi T. Narayan. The investigation was led by the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office, with critical support from the Muscatine County Drug Task Force, the Iowa State Patrol, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Johnson County Drug Task Force — a multi-agency effort reflecting the reach of the meth problem across rural jurisdictions.
The cases, filed under 16-CR-42 and 16-CR-60, are now part of the public record at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. Court documents are accessible via the federal docket system at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. Follow updates from the U.S. Attorney’s Office at @USAO_NDIA.
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Key Facts
- State: Iowa
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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