MUSHROOM HEIR GETS 5- TO 10-YEAR SENTENCE

After nearly a year of wrangling over the fate of a mushroom heir who
ran an underage bacchanal at his Avondale residence, both sides
yesterday applauded the cases's resolution.

Under the terms of a plea agreement approved on Thursday, Richard A.
Basciani will spend five to 10 years in jail followed by five years'
probation. Basciani, 50 of Avondale is a former vice president of
Basciani Foods, a Kennett Square-area mushroom purveyor that has been
featured on the Discovery Channel.

Chester County Assistant District Attorney Lorraine M.B. Finnegan said
that putting Basciani out of business ended a scourge on the community.

"He put out a buffet" of illegal drugs, said Finnegan. "I hope that
people have learned from Mr. Basciani's experiences."

Thomas K. Schindler, who represented Basciani with attorney Robert J.
Donatoni, said that he knows at least one person who did learn:
Basciani himself.

"He's absolutely a different person," Schindler said. "He has taken
steps to recover from his addiction, he will continue to do so, and he
wants to help others deal with their problem" with substance abuse.

Schindler said Basciani's arrest "may have saved his life," adding,
"Those are his words, not mine."

Basciani was sentenced after pleading guilty to cocaine and Oxycontin
possession and delivery, corruption of minors, and firearms offenses.

The investigation into Basciani's illicit activities began in
December, after his teenage ex-housekeeper accused him of giving her
drugs, sometimes after sex.

In January, prosecutors charged Basciani with drug and weapons
offenses. As the probe widened, police seized Basciani's eight-camera
video security system, which showed more than a dozen drug-users -
ranging in age from 17 to 58 - partaking of a drug smorgasbord
Basciani set up in his home.

A second criminal complaint, filed in June, detailed nightly,
drug-induced gatherings from Dec. 24 to Jan 2 at Basciani's home that
led to additional charges of drug delivery and corruption of minors,
court records said.

Finnegan said the drug users identified in the second complaint, some
of whom testified against Basciani, were granted immunity.

However, Finnegan said that the investigation is continuing and that
she could not rule out the possibility that other defendants may be
charged with criminal activities.