South Sioux City Man Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Conspiracy

Joshua Rysavy, age 35, from South Sioux City, Nebraska, pled guilty on March 18, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City, Iowa, to conspiring to distribute fentanyl.

At the plea hearing, evidence showed that from 2022 through June 2023, Rysavy and others conspired to distribute more than 8.5 pounds of fentanyl in Nebraska and Iowa.  

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Rysavy was taken into custody by the United States Marshal after the guilty plea and will remain in custody pending sentencing.  Rysavy faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life years’ imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.  

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 24-3027.  

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