BOSTON — An East Boston man is accused of trafficking fentanyl and cocaine after police seized 240 grams of fentanyl, 65 grams of cocaine, 13 grams of crack cocaine, and 15 pounds of marijuana from his home, Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said.
Robert Ciampi, 63, was charged with trafficking in cocaine more than 36 grams, trafficking in fentanyl more than 10 grams, possession with intent to distribute class A, subsequent offense, possession with intent to distribute class B, subsequent offense, possession with intent to distribute class C, subsequent offense, and possession with intent to distribute class D, subsequent offense, Hayden said Sunday.
In Boston Municipal Court on Thursday, Judge Debra DelVecchio set bail at $5,000 and ordered Ciampi to remain drug and alcohol free with GPS monitoring and home confinement except from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays through Saturdays for work.
At his arraignment, Assistant District Attorney Amanda Taylor said Ciampi’s prior record stretches back to 1975 and includes entries of various drug offenses and convictions. Ciampi served a four-year sentence on his most recent drug-related conviction.
At about 11:08 a.m. on Nov. 1, Boston Police executed a search warrant in Ciampi’s apartment at 54 Orleans St. in East Boston, Hayden said. Police located various narcotics throughout the apartment, including a plastic bag of white powder and a plastic bag of tan powder in a black chest located next to a crib, which belongs to Ciampi’s two-year-old child.
Officers recovered approximately 240 grams of fentanyl, 65 grams of cocaine, 12 grams of crack cocaine, 10 pounds of marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms and $7,500 in cash from the apartment.
According to the website AddictionResource.net, the street cost per gram of fentanyl runs between $150 and $200, making the street value of 240 grams as high as $48,000.
Data released earlier this year by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health showed that opioid-related overdose deaths in the state rose 2.5 percent in 2022 compared to 2021, and that 2022 overdose deaths were 9.1 percent higher than the pre-pandemic peak in 2016. The data also showed that fentanyl was present in 93 percent of fatal opioid overdoses where a toxicology report was available.
“Fentanyl is a death drug, plain and simple. The amount seized here—240 grams of fentanyl, plus sizeable quantities of other drugs—represents a tremendous amount of potential human devastation. We’ve seen the impact of fentanyl use all over Suffolk County, both in concentrated areas like Mass and Cass and in countless locations throughout our neighborhoods. We will not relent in pursuing the people who are trafficking this killer substance,” Hayden said.
Ciampi is due back in court on Dec. 6 for a probable cause hearing.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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