Mickey ‘Frankie’ Fred Charged in Fentanyl Death

A Bridgeport man is behind bars, charged with distributing fentanyl that killed a 32-year-old woman on the porch of a city residence in 2017. MICKEY FRED, also known as “Frankie,” 39, was arrested yesterday on a criminal complaint alleging possession with intent to distribute and distribution of fentanyl, a synthetic opioid up to 50 times more deadly than heroin.

According to court documents, on the afternoon of September 6, 2017, Bridgeport Police and emergency responders rushed to a 911 call reporting an unresponsive woman on the front porch of a local home. The victim, 32, was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. Officers recovered wax folds containing suspected heroin and the victim’s cell phone from the scene — crucial evidence in the seven-year investigation.

Laboratory tests confirmed the wax folds contained fentanyl. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the cause of death as “acute fentanyl intoxication due to the combined effects of fentanyl, alprazolam and diphenhydramine.” Investigators allege that FRED supplied the fatal dose to the victim shortly before she collapsed and died.

FRED appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel in Bridgeport and was ordered detained without bond. The charge of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, fentanyl carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. No trial date has been set.

This case is part of an ongoing statewide initiative targeting drug dealers whose narcotics lead to overdose deaths or serious injury. Led by the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Haven Task Force, with support from the Monroe Police Department and Bridgeport Police Department, the probe reflects federal and local agencies’ intensified push to hold dealers accountable for opioid-related fatalities.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Laraia is prosecuting the case. U.S. Attorney John H. Durham emphasized that the complaint is merely a charge and not evidence of guilt. “Charges are only allegations,” Durham stated, “and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”