MIDDLEBURY — The U.S. Attorney for the District of Vermont confirmed on May 5 that Addison County resident Anthony Carosella, 26, was sentenced to 120 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base and 100 grams or more of heroin, conspiracy to obstruct commerce by armed robbery, and conspiracy to burglarize pharmacies.
Senior U.S. District Judge J. Garvan Murtha, seated in Brattleboro, also sentenced Carosella to four years of supervised release following his prison sentence and ordered that he pay $98,460.62 in restitution to the businesses that suffered loss as a result of his crimes.
According to court documents, in the fall of 2008, Carosella participated in a conspiracy, led by individuals from the Bronx, N.Y., to distribute heroin and crack cocaine in Vermont. During that time, he also held up a convenience store in East Middlebury at gun point, and stole pharmaceuticals from a series of pharmacies in Addison and Chittenden Counties.
Carosella faced a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 60 months in prison. Under U.S. sentencing guidelines, the recommended term of imprisonment was 100-125 months.
The investigation was a collaborative effort involving the Drug Enforcement Administration and local police departments in Vergennes, Middlebury and Essex.
Middlebury police Chief Tom Hanley noted that the sentence reflected Carosella’s involvement in an armed robbery at Mac’s store and two burglaries at Middlebury Beef Supply. It was the use of the firearm at Mac’s that is resulting in his confinement to a maximum security prison, according to Hanley.
“We don’t revel at the sentencing; it’s a factual matter and the result of this young man’s flawed decision making and involvement with substance abuse,” Hanley said. “At 26, he will spend the best 10 years of his life in confinement at a time when life should be at his feet, his whole life ahead of him. He is losing 10 years that he will never get back while life passes him by.
“I hope his sentence isn’t in vain and that others in the same circumstance will get themselves back to productive lives,” Hanley continued. “I commend the cooperative work on the part of all the officers and agents in the Middlebury Police Department and the other agencies that worked so well to end this crime spree.”