Francesco Gulino was arrested in April in Raleigh Co. for possessing heroin
BECKLEY, W.Va. - An Italian national who illegally reentered the United States after being previously deported pleaded guilty today in federal court in Beckley, announced United States Attorney Booth Goodwin. Forty-three-year-old Francesco Gulino, also known as “Frank Gulino," of Italy, was indicted in June 2013 for the federal offense of aggravated reentry. Gulino had been previously convicted of attempted felonious assault in May 2009 in the Court of Common Pleas, Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Gulino was later deported from the United States on or about April 20, 2011. Sometime after April 20, 2011, Gulino illegally reentered the United States from Canada. Gulino had not obtained approval of the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission.
On April 20, 2013, Gulino was arrested by the West Virginia State Police in Raleigh County, W.Va., for possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. In July 2013, Gulino was convicted in Raleigh County Circuit Court of possession with intent to deliver heroin.
Gulino faces up to 20 years in federal prison when he is sentenced in January 2014 by United States District Judge Irene C. Berger. The defendant will also face an administrative deportation proceeding after he discharges his federal sentence.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, assisted by the West Virginia State Police and the Raleigh County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes is handling the prosecution.
This case is being prosecuted as part of an ongoing effort led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to combat the illicit sale and misuse of drugs. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, joined by federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, is committed to aggressively pursuing and shutting down illegal pill trafficking, eliminating open air drug markets, and curtailing the spread of opiate painkillers in communities across the Southern District.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
