New Haven Mass Overdoses Likely due to Pure Fentanyl: Officials

New Haven, CT — Some of the 17 New Haven overdose victims thought they were getting cocaine wrapped in a lottery ticket. Instead they got a drug that can be 50 times more powerful than heroin, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Three people have been arrested in connection with at least some of the 17 overdoses that occurred in New Haven last week.

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The substance that at least some of the overdose victims used is believed to be pure fentanyl, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Fentanyl can be 40 to 50 times more powerful than street-level heroin and is sometimes used to cut heroin and boost its effects.

Many of the victims thought they had used cocaine. Full test results are not yet completed.

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• CT Heroin Dealers Put on Notice: Overdose Deaths Turn to Arrests

The substance that led to the overdoses “caused havoc to patients’ lungs,” said Dr. Gail D’Onofrio, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Yale School of Medicine. Many victims that survived are on artificial respiration due to very low oxygen levels, D’Onofrio said.

Three people died from overdoses, and four remain hospitalized. Naloxone was administered and was effective in treating some of the victims, which indicated the product was some kind of opioid.

“New Haven Police detectives and the Criminal Intelligence Unit worked flat-out from Thursday afternoon through this weekend to save New Haven lives and track down the individuals responsible for dealing these drugs,” said Police Chief Dean Esserman.

The defendants appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah A. L. Merriam Tuesday. Arrested were Frank Pina, 57, Jerome Clay Sr., 55, and Steven Whalley, 48. All are charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Clay and Pina are additionally charged with conspiracy.

It is alleged that the three supplied drugs to at least 12 of the overdose victims on June 23, including two who died.

“Without the combined effort of federal and local law enforcement, emergency medical personnel and city officials, a terrible public health crisis could have been much worse,” said U.S. Attorney Deidre Daly. “We promised that we would act swiftly and that is exactly what our DEA agents, New Haven Police officers and federal prosecutors have done."

Connecting the Dots

Police, firefighters and EMS personnel began responding to reported overdoses during the morning on June 23. The overdoses started that morning and became rampant by the afternoon. Overdoses occurred mainly in the Newhallville section of New Haven on Crescent Street, Lander Street and Dixwell Avenue.

Police seized a lottery ticket with a white powdery substance at the Crescent Street overdose location. A subsequent test determined the material was fentanyl.

A lotto ticket along with a razor blade and two cut straws with a powdery substance were seized at the Lander Street location.

A police source contacted investigators and said that Pina supplied the drugs that led to the overdose, according to the affidavit.

Pina typically sells "twenties" and "fifties," which are $20 and $50 quantities of cocaine, in the area of the Reliable Package liquor store near Brewster Street and Dixwell Avenue, according to the affidavit.

The source told police that Pina was hospitalized after trying his own product and police confirmed that Pina was treated at Yale-New Haven Hospital for a drug overdose on June 19. He was released June 22.

A confidential informant also told police about Pina and said he had sold cocaine for years and packaged it in wrapped-up lottery tickets.

Several overdose victims also provided information that helped lead to the three arrests, according to the affidavit.

Police learned that "Frank" and Clay, aka "Romie," packaged cocaine in lottery tickets and would refer customers to one another if their own supply was low, according to the affidavit.

Police also learned that some drugs were purchased from an individual known as "Steve," who is Whaley.

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