Waukesha Man Faces Drug Delivery Charge After South Graduate Dies

A Waukesha man is accused of dealing methadone to a Town of Waukesha man who later died from taking the drug in combination with other narcotics.

Ricky J. Balboa, 45, was charged Wednesday in Waukesha County Circuit Court with delivery of methadone as a party to a crime. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and $50,000 in fines.

Jiordan DiStasio, 24, a 2005 graduate of Waukesha South High School where he excelled in tennis, was found unconscious at a home on Ermine Court in the Town of Waukesha at 7:25 a.m. June 20, 2012. He was transported to Waukesha Memorial Hospital, where he died after being in a coma for one week.

DiStasio’s friend told a Waukesha County deputy DiStasio was ingesting methadone, Percocet and Xanax with him that evening, according to the criminal complaint. A deputy located 11 methadone pills in DiStasio’s bedroom.

A review of text messages on DiStasio’s phone led Waukesha County detectives to identify Balboa as the source of the methadone, the complaint states. DiStasio’s friend told the detective DiStasio purchased the methadone from someone named “Ricky” for $60.

A Waukesha County detective interviewed Balboa, who told the detective he is a caretaker for a liver and bladder cancer patient. Balboa told the detective he set up the drug transactions for the cancer patient — who wanted to sell the methadone prescriptions — after meeting DiStasio at a wedding, according to the complaint.

The complaint didn't indicate who the cancer patient was, or whether Balboa's claim was accurate.