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Press Release
An indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Brooklyn charging Angelina Barini with distributing and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl that resulted in the fatal overdose of a Queens man on July 11, 2019. Barini was arrested on a criminal complaint on August 25, 2019, and was arraigned on the indictment this morning before United States Magistrate Judge Steven M. Gold. Barini was ordered detained pending trial.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Peter Fitzhugh, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York Field Office (HSI), and James P. O’Neill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the charges.
“As alleged, without regard for the potentially lethal consequences of her actions and despite the enormous body count attributed to dangerous opioids, the defendant provided fentanyl to the victim, causing his death,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “This Office will continue working tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those like the defendant who contribute to the opioid epidemic.”
“In her course of business as a prostitute, it is alleged that Barini gave her client a fatal dose of fentanyl resulting in his death,” stated HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Fitzhugh. “It is well known that the opiod epidemic is very real and present in the New York City area, and with the hope of preventing future opioid related deaths, law enforcement at all levels continue to collaborate, investigate and arrest the dealers and traffickers who bring these deadly drugs into our area.”
As alleged in court filings, on July 11, 2019, the victim was found dead in a motel room in Woodside, Queens. Video surveillance from earlier that day captured a female, who appeared to be Barini, and the victim, entering the motel together. Subsequent to her arrest, Barini was interviewed by law enforcement authorities and admitted supplying the drugs to the victim.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined the victim’s cause of death was fentanyl intoxication. The investigation is continuing.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, she faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years’ imprisonment, and a maximum of life imprisonment.
Assistant United States Attorneys Soumya Dayananda, Andrew Grubin and Andrew Wang are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
ANGELINA BARINI
Age: 41
Queens, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 19-CR-428 (BMC)
John Marzulli
United States Attorney’s Office
(718) 254-6323