El Paso man sentenced to 15 years in prison for selling fentanyl causing fatal overdose

An El Paso man was sentenced to more than a decade in federal prison after a person he sold fentanyl to overdosed on the deadly drug, authorities said.

Michael Joseph Cuccaro, 22, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison on a count of distribution of a controlled substance causing death, U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas officials said.

Cuccaro also was sentenced to three years of supervised release after he serves his prison term.

U.S. Senior Judge David Briones handed down the sentence at the Albert Armendariz Sr. Federal Courthouse in Downtown El Paso.

Cuccaro was convicted of selling counterfeit M-30 oxycodone pills containing fentanyl Dec. 11, 2022, to a purchaser, who is not named in court documents. The purchaser consumed the pills and died from fentanyl poisoning, officials said.

He was indicted by a federal grand jury Sept. 6, 2023 in a two-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance causing death or serious bodily injury.

Cuccaro pleaded guilty April 24 to the distribution charge. The possession charge was dismissed as part of a plea agreement, court records show.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at amartinez1@elpasotimes.com or on Twitter @AMartinezEPT.