WATERLOO -- Facing as long as 100 years behind bars, Dr. Mark Joseph Louviere managed a quick smile and brief wave as he passed family and supporters in the courtroom Monday.

Louviere, 50, of Waterloo, then followed sheriff's deputies out of the courtroom on his way to prison to begin serving his time.

The doctor had earlier pleaded guilty to methamphetamine conspiracy charges, and on Monday District Court Judge Thomas Bower formalized a plea agreement between the defense and prosecutors, sending him to prison for 100 years.

Under law, Louviere has to serve at least one third of the sentence -- a little more than 33 years -- before he can be considered for parole, although that mandatory minimum was reduced by one third for his guilty plea.

He could be out of prison in 22 years.

The sentence can be further reduced for good behavior and work credits as well as credit for the months he spent in jail awaiting the outcome of his court case, Bower noted.

"I apologize to my family and this court, colleagues and the community. I ask for forgiveness, but I do apologize for it," Louviere said in his brief comments Monday.

He deferred to his attorney, Richard Bartolomei, who spoke of Louviere's fall from grace as a once-respected physician and member of the community. The attorney asked the court not to lose sight of the good things he had done.

Bartolomei said Louviere didn't asked for leniency or sympathy. He faced his principles, and accepts his fate, the defense attorney said.

"This isn't about the defendant's drug use," Prosecutor Brad Walz said. "This is about his taking advantage of the methamphetamine trafficking business for whatever reasons … whether it's for power or for sex, whether it was for the small amounts of money that he was making."

Walz said the physician had accepted sex as payment for meth he "fronted" to women.

"The defendant is a doctor and knows what meth does to people," Walz said. "He knows the danger it causes, he knows the damage it causes."

Bower said the investigation determined Louviere had sold meth to people who were on probation and gave them tips on beating the urinalysis tests corrections workers rely on to screen for drug use.

Prosecutors played a brief two-minute excerpt of Louviere's interview with drug agents following his arrest in April in what was considered a record seizure of ice methamphetmine.

Most of the audio was choppy, although at one point he can be heard saying "I'm not trying to talk my way out. I am (past-tense expletive deleted) right now."

Walz said Louviere admitted to snorting and smoking meth for about three to four years and dealing the drug since October or November 2006.

He started in the trade by sliding into another dealer's slot, Walz said.

Louviere sold some of the drugs at a low markup and assisted his associates by providing a place to hide shipments of the drug.

Most people use meth at about a quarter gram at a time, and Louviere sold half-ounce quantities the night before he was arrested, Walz said.

Agents with the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force found about a pound of meth and seven firearms while searching his home on Four Seasons Drive.

During the 10-hour interview with police investigators that followed, Louviere apparently tried to bargain away his charges, offering to disclose the location of 12 pounds of meth and $15,000 in cash, Walz said.

That deal was never struck, and officers located the 12-pound stash in the home of a neighbor who was having the doctor look after his place. It was with a scale in a bag with Louviere's name on it along with his business cards, Walz said.

The cash was never located, Walz said.

Authorities said the seized drugs had a street value of about $1 million. It translated into about 23,000 doses of meth, Walz said.

Bower told Louviere the real victims of the crime were the children of his customers.

"My guess is after your parole, you will find something. You are a very intelligent person. But those kids have had those days, weeks, months and years taken from them," Bower said.

"They may not have had the clothes they needed … or meals they needed, but most importantly, they were robbed of the time," Bower said.

"You used the drugs in exchange for sex. You had women do things that they weren't all that comfortable doing, but you knew the power of the drug," he said.

Defense attorney James Meltcalf said the plea agreement included keeping the case out of federal court.

Walz said the Black Hawk County Attorney's Office preferred to keep the charges in state court. He said Louviere's sentence wouldn't have been much stiffer in federal court because he didn't have any significant prior convictions, and the state charges meant prosecutors had more control over the punishment.

Also, the county attorney's office wanted to make sure Louviere went to an actual prison and not a camp or less restrictive facility that might be found in the federal system for nonviolent offenders, Walz said.

Contact Jeff Reinitz at (319) 291-1578 or jeff.reinitz@wcfcourier.com.