A Scranton man will spend more than two decades behind bars for selling a fatal mixture of drugs to a juvenile.
Senior U.S. District Judge Robert D. Mariani sentenced Federico Rosario, 30, to 24 years in prison on Friday for possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and drug distribution resulting in death, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
Rosario started selling small quantities of cocaine to the 17-year-old victim in July 2021, according to acting U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus. Then, on Aug. 11, 2021, Rosario sold the minor 0.4 grams of a substance presented as cocaine, authorities said. The victim sent Rosario a message less than 30 minutes after consuming the drugs, asking what was in it because it had him “spinning,” according to the news release. The victim also sent a follow-up message eight seconds later, but Rosario never responded and the victim was found dead the next morning, authorities said.
Laboratory analysis revealed the substance Rosario sold to the victim was a mixture of cocaine and fentanyl, and autopsy and postmortem toxicology confirmed the presence of fatal levels of fentanyl in the minor’s system at death, authorities said.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Scranton Police Department.
Experts testified that the minor, who was otherwise healthy, would not have died if he didn’t ingest the toxic level of fentanyl — which is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine, authorities said.
The jury found Rosario guilty on three counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of drug distribution resulting in death at the conclusion of a four-day trial.