2 Bridgeport residents charged in connection with Trumbull man’s OD death

BRIDGEPORT — Two city residents were charged with fentanyl distribution offenses in connection with the overdose death of a Trumbull man last year, according to a news release from U.S. Attorney for Connecticut John Durham.

Bridgeport residents John “Gotti” Matthews, 34, and Deandra “Tosh” Bloschichak, 19, were charged on a four-count indictment. The indictment was returned June 12 and was unsealed Wednesday after Bloschichak was arrested, Durham said. He said Matthews is in state custody on related charges.

“This matter stems from an ongoing statewide initiative targeting narcotics dealers who distribute heroin, fentanyl or opioids that cause death or serious injury to users,” Durham said.

Their arrests stem from an investigation that began Nov. 1, 2018, when a 35-year-old Trumbull man died of a drug overdose. The medical examiner ruled the man’s cause of death as acute fentanyl intoxication.

“As alleged, John Matthews sold the fentanyl that caused the death of a Trumbull man last November,” Durham said.

Between September and November of 2018, Durham said, Matthews and Bloschichak are accused of conspiring to distributed fentanyl.

The two were each charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, fentanyl and heroin, as well as one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

The charges carry a maximum term of 20 years in prison for each count, Durham said.

Matthews is also charged with one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in the death of another person. Durham said if Matthews is convicted of this charge, he faces a mandatory minimum term of 20 years in prison and maximum term of life in prison.

“In 2018, more than 1,000 Connecticut residents died by drug overdose, and fentanyl was a contributing substance in the vast majority of those overdoses,” Durham said. “Drug dealers who continue to profit from the deadly opioid trade are warned: When a toxicology report clearly determines the substance that caused an overdose death, and the investigation reveals the indisputable source of that substance, our office is prepared to charge this very serious, 20-year mandatory minimum offense.”

Brian D. Boyle, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, said fentanyl causes “great damage to our communities.”

“Those who distribute fentanyl are endangering the safety of the citizens of Connecticut,” Boyle said. “This investigation demonstrates the strength of collaborative local, county and state law enforcement efforts in Connecticut and our strong partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”