The sister and brother-in-law of comic Tom Arnold have been charged with leading an interstate drug operation.
Authorities say the operation distributed more than 44 pounds of methamphetamine in the past six years.Floyd Eugene Stockdall, 47, and Lori Kay Stockdall, 31, of Ottumwa and nine other people were charged in an indictment handed up by a federal grand jury Oct. 25 but sealed until Thursday.
Federal prosecutor Gene W. Shepard said the Stockdalls were charged with directing a continuing criminal enterprise operating in southeast Iowa, Utah, California, Kansas and Arizona since January 1985.
The couple accumulated property valued at $750,000 from the sale of methamphetamine, the U.S. attorney's office said. They concealed the proceeds of the operation by laundering the money, the U.S. attorney said.
Tom Arnold is the husband of Roseanne Arnold, star of the TV show "Roseanne." Arnold appears on the show and is its co-producer. He was not mentioned in any of the indictments.
In a statement released Thursday, Arnold said he believes his sister will be treated fairly.
"I was very saddened when I heard the news of my sister and brother-in-law being arrested on federal drug charges in Iowa," Arnold said. "I love my sister very much and I trust our judicial system will treat her fairly under the law."
The Stockdalls also are charged with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, distributing the drug and using or carrying a firearm during the conspiracy and distribution.