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Dino Guilmette, the friend (and rumored ex) of Real Housewives of Rhode Island star Liz McGraw, rejected the assistant attorney general’s plea deal that would let him avoid prison time. Dino told the judge that he wants a trial.
Dino, who was featured on the show for several episodes, is now facing 88 years in prison over eight offenses related to drugs. This includes alleged drug conspiracy, possession of a controlled substance, and perjury. According to reports, investigators used a wiretap to collect evidence that allegedly showed his involvement in the smuggling of cocaine.
According to WPRI 12, Dino told the judge that he wants a trial, and he rejected the plea deal that would’ve kept him out of prison.
He said no to Assistant Attorney General Jim Baum‘s plea offer on Thursday, before Rhode Island Superior Court Magistrate Judge Gina Lopes.
“My client turned down the offer because he absolutely maintains his innocence,” said Dino’s lawyer, John Calcagni, after court.
Dino was charged in early 2022. His attorney blamed the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office for the delay.
“The court had absolutely no hand in the delay in this case,” said the attorney. “It took a long time for the attorney general’s office, current administration, to extend an offer and that is why this case has dragged on for as long as it has.”
But an attorney general spokesperson named Tim Rondeau claimed the delay was due to motions, hearings, and “requests for continuances by both sides.”
“Once the defense requested an offer, earlier this year, this office took the time it needed to evaluate what we believed would be an appropriate resolution,” shared Rondeau in a statement. “As became apparent in court today, the defendant was not interested in accepting the state’s offer, as is his right, and we are ready to proceed accordingly.”
Before he was first charged, Rhode Island State Police Detective Matthew Lynch, in a search warrant affidavit, alleged that Dino had ties to organized crime members, which included an alleged Mafia captain named Matthew Guigliemetti. Dino’s attorney said these allegations are “patently false.”
“If anybody knows anything about organized crime, people will tell you that organized crime is dead — it is in the pages of history,” stated Calcagni, who called Dino “an upstanding member of his community.”
“I know that Dino has personal friendships with some of the people that are on [RHORI],” Calcagni went on. “But this case has continued to get media publicity since day one, particularly because of the false statements contained in the warrant affidavit attributing Dino and membership to organized crime, drug trafficking, and many, many other defamatory and false statements.”