A narcotics dealer has been sentenced to six years in prison for his part in mailing a package that contained $80,000 worth of marijuana to an associate's Naperville home.
Paul T. DeLong, of southwest suburban Midlothian, was recommended as a candidate for enrollment in the Illinois Department of Corrections' "impact incarceration" program, or boot camp.
The recommendation was made as part of DeLong's sentencing Wednesday in DuPage County Circuit Court. He was also ordered to pay $8,100 in fines and court costs, court records showed.
DeLong, 25, pleaded guilty Dec. 1 to a felony charge of the manufacture or delivery of 2,000 to 5,000 grams of cannabis.
Authorities have described him as a mid-level drug dealer. He and a friend, Aron L. Wickart, were arrested Nov. 30, 2006, following a joint investigation by the DuPage Metropolitan Enforcement Group and the U.S. Postal Service, with assistance from Naperville police.
Postal inspectors intercepted and opened a suspicious-looking package that had been mailed from San Diego and was bound for Wickart's home on Kentshire Circle, near the Summerfield area of far west-central Naperville. The parcel contained 20 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street sale value of $80,000.
Inspectors resealed the package and sent it on its way, with Wickart eventually receiving it. Authorities said further investigation revealed the parcel was intended for DeLong.
Wickart, 28, was sentenced Jan. 8, 2008, to two months in DuPage County Jail and two years of probation for his part in the crime.
