Travis Charles Werkmeister, Methamphetamine Importation, Iowa 2021

Travis Charles Werkmeister

WATERLOO, IA – A Waterloo man, Travis Charles Werkmeister, has been sentenced to nearly 29 years in federal prison for his role in importing thousands of kilograms of methamphetamine from Mexico to Iowa.

Travis Charles Werkmeister, age 34, received the prison sentence on July 19, 2021, after a February 8, 2021, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing showed that investigators conducted controlled buys of ounce-quantities of methamphetamine from Werkmeister at his Waterloo residence in 2018. In 2019, investigators conducted a wiretap investigation, intercepting thousands of calls and messages between Werkmeister and other members of the drug-distribution organization. Werkmeister was intercepted discussing methamphetamine shipments with co-conspirators, including the head of the organization based out of Mexico.

Werkmeister would receive pound to kilogram quantities of methamphetamine at a time and redistribute to multiple people in the Waterloo, Iowa, area, who would in turn sell to others. Werkmeister has a lengthy criminal history, dating back to 2005, with at least three felony convictions and three convictions for assaulting one other person.

Werkmeister was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. He was sentenced to 346 months’ imprisonment and must serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. He must also pay a $100 special assessment fee.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Corkery. This case was investigated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States through a cooperative effort of the Mid-Iowa Task Force, Iowa National Guard and Counter Drug Program, Tri-County Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Court file information can be found at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 20-CR-2034.

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