Man sentenced to 10 years in prison
Provided heroin to woman who died from an overdose
ALBANY, N.Y. » A Saratoga Springs was sentenced to 10 years in prison for distributing heroin to a 30-yearold woman who died from taking it.
Matthew P. Charo, as part of his guilty plea on Aug. 14, 2017, admitted that on Oct. 2, 2014 he sold heroin to a woman who was his acquaintance from high school. Before the sale, the victim told Charo that she had tried all day to buy heroin without success. Charo agreed to help the victim buy heroin, and used the victim’s food stamp EBT card to buy heroin from another individual, which he then distributed to the victim. She ingested the heroin and died due to acute heroin intoxication.
The announcement was made Thursday by Acting United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Vadim D. Thomas, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“[Thursday’s] sentence holds Matthew Charo accountable for causing the death of a young woman who was struggling to overcome her addiction. Though his decade of imprisonment cannot undo the harm to the victim and her family, who will continue to endure the unimaginable loss of their daughter, vigorous enforcement is a key component of prevention,” said Jaquith. “Heroin kills, and dealing heroin is a deadly choice that can subject the dealer of even a small amount to severe consequences if a customer dies from taking heroin. As part of our multi-pronged approach to the opioid crisis, we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold drug dealers accountable for fatal overdoses.”
“Today’s sentencing is the culmination of many long hours and dedicated work, but the effort to make our communities safer continues,” said Thomas. “The FBI is committed to investigating those like Mr. Charo, who endanger our families and our communities with drugs.”
As part of the sentence, Senior United States Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr. also imposed a three-year term of supervised release, to begin following Charo’s release from prison.
“I want to thank our law enforcement partners at the federal, state and local level for bringing this man to justice. Drugs such as heroin destroy our communities and put lives at risk,” said New York State Police Superintendent George P. Beach II. “This sentencing sends a clear message that we will not tolerate the illegal drug activity and the deadly consequences that are associated with such activity. We will remain vigilant in pursuing and prosecuting criminals who threaten the safety of our neighborhoods through the distribution of these illegal and harmful narcotics.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, the New York State Police and the Saratoga Springs Police Department, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Hanlon.
“As this investigation has clearly demonstrated, drug dealing is not a victimless crime. No prison sentence will ever bring this victim back to life or alleviate the suffering of her loved ones,” said Saratoga Springs Police Department Chief Gregory Veitch.