ELLSWORTH, Maine — An Orland man arrested a year ago in a bust that netted more than $150,000 worth of illegal drugs and more than $40,000 in cash has been sentenced to six years in prison, according to Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Paul Chiumiento, 33, received an overall sentence Wednesday in Hancock County Unified Criminal Court of 12 years in prison with all but six years suspended, MDEA officials indicated Thursday in a prepared statement. He also was ordered to serve four years of probation after his release.
In addition, Chiumiento agreed to forfeit 17 firearms, a 2015 GMC pickup truck, a Mercedes sport-utility vehicle, two snowmobiles, two motorcycles and the cash seized in the Dec. 21 drug bust, MDEA said. Handguns, hunting rifles and assault weapons were among the firearms forfeited.
As part of a deal with the Hancock County district attorney’s office, Chiumiento pled guilty to a Class A felony charge of aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs, two counts of unlawful trafficking in scheduled drugs, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and five counts of violating conditions of release.
Chiumiento and Aaron Carter, 41, of Sedgwick were arrested last year as part of a yearlong joint investigation by MDEA and the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department. Police stopped a vehicle the men were riding in on Route 1 in Orland and, after finding heroin in their possession, went to Chiumiento’s home on Oak Hill Road and searched it, police have said.
In the house, police found about 400 grams of heroin with a total estimated street value of $100,000, about 22 pounds of processed marijuana with a total street value of $33,000, and about 750 oxycodone pills with a total street value of $20,000, in addition to the cash and firearms.
Hyacinthe Baril, 35, who also lived at the house and was there when police arrived, was arrested on a Class A felony charge of aggravated trafficking in scheduled drugs. She pled guilty this month to a lesser charge of hindering apprehension or prosecution and received an overall sentence of four years behind bars with all but nine months suspended and two years probation.
Charges against Carter were dismissed this past August, according to MDEA.
Matthew Foster, district attorney for Hancock County, said Thursday in a separate statement that the sentencing resolves one of the more significant drug cases in the area in recent years.
“We are very pleased with the result and [pleased] that law enforcement did an excellent job bringing the case together,” Foster said. “I am glad we got such a significant amount of illegal drugs off the streets and that we were able to put Mr. Chiumiento out of business.”
