Federico Rosario, Drug Distribution Resulting in Death, Pennsylvania 2025

Federico Rosario, 30, Sentenced to 24 Years for Selling Fentanyl-Laced Cocaine to Minor, Resulting in Death

SCRANTON, PA – A Scranton man has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for his role in the death of a 17-year-old minor who overdosed on fentanyl-laced cocaine.

Federico Rosario, 30, was sentenced on April 11, 2025, by Senior United States District Judge Robert D. Mariani for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and drug distribution resulting in death.

According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Rosario sold small quantities of cocaine to the minor in July 2021. On August 11, 2021, Rosario sold the minor victim .4 grams of a substance represented to be cocaine. Less than 30 minutes later, after consuming a portion of the substance, the victim sent Rosario a message asking what was in the substance because it had him ‘spinning’ as though he was drunk.

Receiving no response from Rosario, the minor victim sent a follow-up message eight seconds later. Rosario never responded or took any other action in response to the victim’s messages. The next morning, the minor victim was found dead in his room.

Laboratory analysis of the substance sold to the victim by Rosario revealed it to be a mixture of cocaine and fentanyl. Autopsy and post-mortem toxicology confirmed the presence of fatal levels of fentanyl in the minor victim’s system at death.

During a four-day jury trial, expert testimony established that but for the toxic level of fentanyl, which is 50-100 times more potent than morphine, the otherwise healthy minor victim would not have died. At the conclusion of trial, the jury returned a verdict finding Rosario guilty on three counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and one count of drug distribution resulting in death.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Scranton Police Department. Former Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara and Assistant United States Attorney Sarah R. Lloyd prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

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