Two men indicted on charges they sold fentanyl-laced pills to woman who fatally overdose
Two Bayport men were indicted on charges of selling drugs that led to a woman's fatal fentanyl overdose, the Suffolk County district attorney's office said Friday.
Anthony Trimboli, 34, was charged with selling fentanyl-laced pills that led to the death of a 40-year-old Centereach woman who bought them, overdosed and died from the drugs, prosecutors said.
Matthew Familia was also indicted, charged with selling the fentanyl-laced pills to Trimboli.
Prosecutors said Trimboli sold the woman counterfeit oxycodone pills with fentanyl and counterfeit Xanax pills on Feb. 4. She had an immediate overdose. She was treated at Stony Brook University Hospital, where she was found with a lethal level of fentanyl in her blood and died.
Authorities said he also sold a 33-year-old man counterfeit oxycodone pills with fentanyl out of his Bayport home that he shared with Familia, four days earlier. The man survived, but overdosed with permanent damage, prosecutors said.
“We will not sit back and continue to watch as unsuspecting people in Suffolk County die from ingesting fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills,” Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond Tierney said.
Suffolk County undercover detectives bought counterfeit oxycodone and Xanax pills from Trimboli, which included fentanyl, cocaine and clonazolam, prosecutors said.
Police served a search warrant July 27 at the Bayport home where Trimboli had a cellphone he used to sell drugs, prosecutors said.
Familia was accused of providing Trimboli with cocaine and counterfeit pills, prosecutors said. He was found with a large number of counterfeit pills, cocaine, ketamine, packaging materials, scales, three high-capacity ammunition feeding devices, and an unregistered assault weapon.
Trimboli pleaded not guilty Friday to four counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance, four counts of possession of a controlled substance, three counts of attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance, and three counts of attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Judge Richard Horowitz ordered Trimboli held on $300,000 cash, $600,000 bond.
"Anthony adamantly denies the extent of the involvement the DA is alleging. He is also sympathetic for the victims and hopeful the truth as it pertains to him will play out in the end," Trimboli's attorney, Katherine Fernandez, said in a statement.
Familia pleaded not guilty Friday to one count of criminal possession of a controlled substance, four counts of criminal possession of a weapon, five counts of criminal possession of a controlled substance, one count of attempted criminal possession of a controlled substance and two counts of criminal use of drug paraphernalia.
He was ordered held on $200,000 cash or $400,000 bond. His attorney could not be reached.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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