Dealer gets 17 years in OD death
A prostitute-obsessed suburban dad was busted at his Long Island home for trying to kidnap two local sex workers — and put them to work for him, federal authorities said.
Long Island neighbors were rattled to hear of the allegations against aspiring pimp Andrew Frey, 54, along with the details of his Friday morning arrest: A pair of handcuffs discovered inside his car, along with ropes, zip-ties and manuals on knot-tying recovered from his Coram home.
“It’s not every morning you wake up to the cops outside,” said local resident Alex Goldberg, 34. “It was a big shock. He’s always been friendly and neighborly. It’s a big shock. I can’t imagine what’s going on with his family.”
Frey, who had a history of violence against prostitutes, was held without bail by Long Island Federal Magistrate Anne Shields after federal prosecutors described the suspect as “both a danger to the community and a flight risk.”
Frey, the father of two, initially hired the Long Island working girls to meet him for sexual rendezvouses before attempting to kidnap the victims identified only as Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2 in court papers.
He arranged separate meetings with the women by phone — one in October 2018 and one this July — and then used force to keep them in line as he drove into secluded areas with plans of abduction, according to court documents.
“Both separately managed to escape Frey by jumping from his moving vehicle and sustaining injuries in the process,” federal prosecutors said in court papers. “The nature of his conduct … was sufficiently violent that both deemed it a safer option to throw themselves from a moving vehicle in order to escape the defendant.”
Frey later reached out to both victims after their terrifying escapes — and even attempted to forcibly abduct Jane Doe #1 with a weapon on a second occasion, authorities alleged. Prosecutors also cited phone records, and photographs showing the victim’s injuries, in support of the sordid allegations.
“Oh my God,” said another Long Island neighbor. “I have two young daughters.”
Frey has a history of violence against sex workers, including one who sought an order of protection after he intentionally slammed his car into her vehicle. Frey then violated the order by leaving threatening voicemails on the victim’s phone, prosecutors said.
His previous convictions include a felony charge for possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, along with criminal possession of stolen property, criminal possession of a controlled substance, unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal mischief. He was currently charged with attempted sex trafficking by force and attempted kidnapping.
Frey works as a manager at an airplane components factory, and his Facebook page features a photo of the suspect standing with his son against a backdrop of American flags.
If convicted, he faces at least 15 years in prison.
A drug dealer who admitted he sold fentanyl to a Bronx teacher who overdosed and died at his school was sentenced Friday to 17 years in prison.
“Kashawn Lyons admitted to selling a fatal dose of fentanyl to Matthew Azimi, a public school teacher in the Bronx, who overdosed inside of his schoolhouse at the age of 36,” said U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman.
“The tragic death of a public educator is a reminder of the pervasiveness of the opioid epidemic and its destructive effect on our society.”
Azimi was found dead with a syringe and a pink glassine bag next to his body inside a faculty bathroom at Public School X811, a special education school, on Nov. 30, 2017 , authorities said.
After the dismissal bell rang at about 2:50 p.m., Azimi said goodbye to his students and went to a nearby CVS to buy the needle.
Nearly two hours later, a school custodian found him dead inside a locked bathroom. The receipt for his CVS purchase was in his pants pocket, police sources said.
Cops also found Azimi’s cell phone.
Investigators tracked Azimi’s last three phone calls to a phone used by Lyons, and, through surveillance, learned that Lyons was continuing to sell fentanyl and heroin near the school.
Undercover cops later bought dope from Lyons and an accomplice, police said later.
The drugs cops purchased were packaged in the same type of bags found next to Azimi’s body.
Lyons, 33, pleaded guilty in January.
Azimi was the father of three children. His wife was five months pregnant at the time.