WARREN — A convicted murderer from Oxford County will serve three years in prison for violating parole by possessing firearms.

Frank Cugliata, 62, of Porter had three years of parole revoked by the four-member Maine Parole Board on Thursday morning at a closed-door hearing at the Maine Correctional Center, according to Scott Fish, spokesperson for the Department of Corrections.

It was not known if the time will be consecutive to or alongside a one-year sentence imposed by Oxford County Superior Court in January.

Meetings of the parole board are becoming increasingly rare as the abandoned system oversees a declining population of inmates and paroled persons who are grandfathered. Current board members include Robert Schwartz, executive director of the Maine Chiefs of Police Association; Assistant Attorney General John Richards; Charles Love; and Richard Harburger of the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office.

Revoking parole and imposing what amounts to a jail sentence differs from the probation system ushered in to replace it in that any action is taken by a panel, rather than a judge. 

The board had two basic determinations to make: whether Cugliata breached the conditions of his release and, if so, how much, if any, of his parole should be taken away. 

In 1975, Cugliata and a co-defendant were sentenced to life in prison in Lincoln County after a jury found them guilty of killing a Massachusetts man they knew through drug connections. He was 21 at the time. 

The trio had taken Cugliata’s car north to Nobleboro to buy drugs and the duo shot a third man over the deal. 

On Feb. 27, 1985, 10 years into a the prison sentence, Cugliata was paroled by the board and released from prison with lifetime conditions: no contact with the family of the victim, no use of drugs or alcohol, no possession of firearms and no new crimes. 

In June, a parole officer discovered several firearms during a search of the home Cugliata shared with a son. He was arrested and charged with a Class C felony. 

To be released, Cugliata would have to devise a board-approved parole plan designed to prevent a relapse. The plan could include finding stable housing and a job, according to corrections officials familiar with the procedure.

ccrosby@sunmediagroup.net 

Copy the Story Link