Lucy
August 1st, 2008, 11:24 PM
http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/article752952.ece
SPRING HILL — Steven Alfano wanted to teach his 15-year-old son "how to party right,'' witnesses said. He gave Vincent a cocktail of powerful prescription drugs and showed him how to crush and snort the pills.
But his son is dead, and now Alfano is facing a murder charge.
Alfano, 47, was arrested on Friday, more than one month after deputies found Vincent dead from an accidental overdose in the family's home.
Spokeswomen for Partnership for a Drug-Free America and the Office of National Drug Control Policy could not recall a similar case of a parent charged with murder in an accidental overdose death.
When deputies arrived the Alfano home at 11718 Linden Drive about 9 a.m. June 27, the father told them he had found Vincent in his bedroom and had tried to perform CPR.
Vincent, who turned 15 on June 9 and was an eighth-grade student at Challenger K-8 school, was later found to have six types of drugs in his system, according to the medical examiner's office. They included painkillers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone and a form of the antianxiety drug Xanax.
Alfano told deputies that he kept his prescribed medications locked away "so no one other than himself had access to them," according to an arrest affidavit. However, deputies found hundreds of pills easily accessible.
More than a week later, Alfano told two of Vincent's friends that he knowingly gave the drugs to his son, according to authorities.
"I tried to teach him how to party right," Alfano told the two friends, who wore wires as confidential informants for the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. The two friends told investigators they had previously purchased prescription drugs from Alfano.
The two informants and another of Vincent's friends told investigators they saw Alfano give prescription drugs to his son. All three witnesses said they saw the father and son crush and snort pills together.
Alfano was charged with third-degree murder, which according to Florida statute can occur when the killing of a person "resulted from the unlawful distribution" of narcotics. He was also charged with one count of child abuse. He was being held without bail Friday at the Hernando County Jail.
Authorities said Alfano obtained the many kinds of pills by giving false information to pharmacists. He was charged with withholding information from a medical practitioner, according to an arrest affidavit.
Alfano has a lengthy criminal record that includes one arrest for assault on a law enforcement officer, one arrest for battery on a police officer and multiple DUI arrests, among others.
SPRING HILL — Steven Alfano wanted to teach his 15-year-old son "how to party right,'' witnesses said. He gave Vincent a cocktail of powerful prescription drugs and showed him how to crush and snort the pills.
But his son is dead, and now Alfano is facing a murder charge.
Alfano, 47, was arrested on Friday, more than one month after deputies found Vincent dead from an accidental overdose in the family's home.
Spokeswomen for Partnership for a Drug-Free America and the Office of National Drug Control Policy could not recall a similar case of a parent charged with murder in an accidental overdose death.
When deputies arrived the Alfano home at 11718 Linden Drive about 9 a.m. June 27, the father told them he had found Vincent in his bedroom and had tried to perform CPR.
Vincent, who turned 15 on June 9 and was an eighth-grade student at Challenger K-8 school, was later found to have six types of drugs in his system, according to the medical examiner's office. They included painkillers such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone and a form of the antianxiety drug Xanax.
Alfano told deputies that he kept his prescribed medications locked away "so no one other than himself had access to them," according to an arrest affidavit. However, deputies found hundreds of pills easily accessible.
More than a week later, Alfano told two of Vincent's friends that he knowingly gave the drugs to his son, according to authorities.
"I tried to teach him how to party right," Alfano told the two friends, who wore wires as confidential informants for the Hernando County Sheriff's Office. The two friends told investigators they had previously purchased prescription drugs from Alfano.
The two informants and another of Vincent's friends told investigators they saw Alfano give prescription drugs to his son. All three witnesses said they saw the father and son crush and snort pills together.
Alfano was charged with third-degree murder, which according to Florida statute can occur when the killing of a person "resulted from the unlawful distribution" of narcotics. He was also charged with one count of child abuse. He was being held without bail Friday at the Hernando County Jail.
Authorities said Alfano obtained the many kinds of pills by giving false information to pharmacists. He was charged with withholding information from a medical practitioner, according to an arrest affidavit.
Alfano has a lengthy criminal record that includes one arrest for assault on a law enforcement officer, one arrest for battery on a police officer and multiple DUI arrests, among others.