Neronha Blames the Courts, As Case of Accused Drug Dealer Dino Guilmette Drags on for Four Years

Neronha Blames the Courts, As Case of Accused Drug Dealer Dino Guilmette Drags on for Four Years

On Monday, Dino Guilmette was scheduled to appear in Providence Superior Court for a Frye hearing — it was the 87th court action on his case.  The charges in this case were first filed in March of 2022. The crimes, according to the Court, date back to November, 2021.

Guilmette is facing seven felony charges, including: 

• Manuf/Del/Poss w/ Intent Manuf/Del Sch III/IV Controlled Substance-1st Offense
• Conspiracy - Drug - Felony Greater Than 5 Years to Life
• Conspiracy - Felony Greater Than 5 to 10 Years
   

“The attorneys conferenced the case with the Court this morning and agreed upon a new date of June 25,” Tim Rondeau, a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office. told GoLocal in an email on Monday.

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A Frye hearing in Rhode Island courts is when the court formally recaps the charges and potential sentences, and the prosecution offers its plea deal — some lawyers call it the last offer.

 

High Profile

Guilmette has been high profile for years. As GoLocal reported in 2022:

Dino Guilmette is a former boxer and actor. He is also known in celebrity publications for having fathered a child with Aaron Hernandez’ former fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins.

A GoLocal investigation into the relationship between Guilmette and Elizabeth McGraw uncovered a deeply intertwined series of connections.

According to State Police documents, Gerry McGraw and his wife had more than 1,000 phone calls with Dino Guilmette — an individual with strong ties to La Cosa Nostra. READ MORE ABOUT THE STATE POLICE INVESTIGATION HERE

While those calls were uncovered by RISP wiretaps, Elizabeth McGrath was posting photos of herself and Guilmette together on Instagram.

Gerry and Elizabeth McGraw live in a mansion in Cranston on Narragansett Bay, complete with a waterfront swimming pool. Their travels and parties are splashed across social media — flooding Facebook and Instagram with exotic destinations and luxurious celebrations. 

She is a cast member of the Bravo series The Real Housewives of Rhode Island. The couple owns and operates two Rhode Island state-regulated cannabis companies.

And after a two-year Rhode Island State Police Investigation, Guilmette was charged with seven felony charges. Neither of the McGraws was charged, although Elizabeth McGraw was mentioned in many of the State Police documents.

The court documents — including affidavits from the State Police and excerpts from State Police wiretaps — revealed numerous connections between Guilmette and the McGraws. 

According to State Police documents, McGraw and his wife had more than 1,000 phone calls with Guilmette. 

According to court records, there have been 39 court-sanctioned pre-trial conferences.

 

Neronha Call Situation "Very Frustrating"

“Cases are moving very slowly through the Superior Court,” said Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha.

"We have a court date on the 25th where we expect [SIC] a plea of some kind - if not, then the case will be sent to the trial court/calendar," said Neronha.

"The travel of this case is pretty typical - and that is not ideal.  I have met with the new presiding justice [Joseph Montalbano], and he expressed concern looking at the data/numbers themselves and is committed to improving information things quickly," said Neronha.

"Very frustrating to prosecutors and victims," he said.

"The truth is that when a defendant is not held without bail pre-trial - which cannot happen unless they are charged with a capital offense or they are a probation or bail violator - the cases become harder to move especially if it is a case where a prison sentence is likely to be imposed, because getting a defendant from the street to prison is very difficult, for obvious reasons," said Neronha.

"So, unless the court is really pushing these cases along, and not accepting requests for more time from defense counsel and prosecutors, cases can lag, and sometimes for years," added Neronha.

Neronha said, "Civil cases are even worse than criminal cases."

The next scheduled court case is June 25th.