Rock Falls, Sterling men indicted on federal meth conspiracy charges

ROCKFORD – Two local men are facing up to life in prison on federal meth-dealing charges.

Tony Clapp, 58, of Rock Falls, and Gregory Bollman, 48, of Sterling, were indicted Tuesday on conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, Clapp with two counts and Bollman with one, John R. Lausch Jr., United States attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said in a news release.

According to federal court documents, between Feb. 9 and 11, Clapp “arranged and facilitated the transportation of approximately 3 kilograms of methamphetamine” from California to his home in Rock Falls.

Clapp, who already is on supervised release on federal cocaine distribution charges, pleaded not guilty today.

He is facing faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, Bollman a mandatory minimum of 10 years, under United States Sentencing Guidelines, the release said.

Neither the release nor court documents filed so far provide any details on Bollman’s purported participation. His arraignment has not yet been scheduled.

According to the probable cause affidavit from Drug Enforcement Agency Special Agent Nicholas Albert, filed March 22:

On Feb. 10 near Kearney, Nebraska, a Nebraska State Patrol trooper pulled over a rental car driven by a person identified in the affidavit only as individual A.

After getting permission to search the vehicle, the trooper found three bags of what eventually tested positive for 2,800 grams of pure meth.

Individual A told the trooper that he (a pronoun used only for the purposes of efficiency, A’s gender is not revealed in the affidavit) was delivering the meth from San Mateo, California to Clapp’s home in Rock Falls, for which he would be paid $1,500 to $2,000, plus expenses.

Based on texts and phone messages between the two, it appears A left Illinois on Feb. 7, arrived in California on Feb. 8, and was stopped in Nebraska on Feb. 10.

He agreed to cooperate with law enforcement, telling officers he was to call Clapp 10 minutes before he got to his home, and to put the meth in a cooler in the garage.

On Feb. 11, he called Clapp to get his final delivery instructions. Clapp, who was working as a truck driver, gave him the code to his garage and said he was on his way back to the area.

Officers had Individual A put look-alike bags in the cooler and leave.

Clapp’s truck was pulled over around 11:30 that morning about 3 miles from his home and he was arrested, the affidavit said.

Clapp was sentenced in federal court in December 2008 to 14 years, 4 months, followed by 5 years’ supervised release, for distributing almost 29 grams of cocaine.

On Sept. 28, he pleaded guilty to violating the terms of his release by failing a drug test and was given more supervised release time.

State Police, the ISP Blackhawk Area Task Force, the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office, and the Nebraska State Police assisted in the federal investigation, the release said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Ladd is prosecuting. Clapp is represented by Rockford attorney Christopher DeRango.

Clapp also has a long history of felony convictions in Whiteside County, including a 1994 conviction for dealing coke, for which he was sentenced to 11 years; a 1999 robbery conviction, for which he got 10 years; and a 2005 conviction for possession of a controlled substance, which netted him 3 years. The 2006 and 2007 felony drug cases were dismissed in favor of the federal charges.

Bollman, too, has an extensive local felony history.

He was convicted of burglary in 1992 and given 4 years probation; of obstruction justice, forgery, and two counts possession of a controlled substance in four separate cases in 2001; of dealing cocaine, for which he was sentenced to 7 years, in 2004; of writing bad checks in 2011; and over the last several years of multiple counts of driving while revoked, all in Whiteside County.

He also has a pending 2020 case in which he is charged with aggravated battery to a peace officer, aggravated battery in a public place, possession of meth, aggravated fleeing police, resisting and driving while revoked, all felonies. A May 25 pretrial hearing is set.