Vito D. Buonomano is the owner of Providence-based energy company Northeast Solar & Wind Power LLC. He recently launched the Fentanyl Awareness Foundation to help spread the word about the deadly narcotic after his son, Nicolis, died in February from an overdose at the age of 33. Buonomano spoke with Providence Business News about his mission to stop drug use in the state.
PBN: Explain what happened with your son, Nicolis, and what does the foundation do to spread awareness?
BUONOMANO: He unknowingly took a counterfeit pill that was laced with fentanyl. We don’t know where he got the medication from. I found him in his apartment afterward and there were pills on the table. Was my son an addict? I don’t know.
We distribute signage, and also hold fundraisers where we educate the people who come [about fentanyl]. We just had one on Oct. 8, which was on my son’s birthday. We show them what we do with the signs and what they’re about. Our job is to educate the public.
PBN: How are you working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on your initiative?
BUONOMANO: We called DEA and they have some signs with information about fentanyl and counterfeit pills. We looked at what DEA was doing and they’re basically saying “don’t touch it.” There’s no safe drug use anymore because it’s so deadly. These counterfeit pills are killing hundreds and thousands of Americans.
DEA came up with a “One Pill Can Kill” program and there’s three signs that are core to their program. DEA allowed us to put our website on their signs and distribute them across the state. We put out maybe thousands of signs within libraries, barbershops, pharmacies and other businesses that my company has accounts with to start. We also got them into some post offices, and we’ve given signs to Providence police.
PBN: Have you gotten businesses to financially contribute to your initiative? And how much has the foundation raised thus far?
BUONOMANO: A lot of companies we go into, especially when they have a lot of blue-collar workers, they tell me everybody here has been affected by this [fentanyl] death. A niece, a nephew, brother, sister, aunt or uncle. They were happy to put the signs up and make a donation.
I’ll come back to my office and there would be a $100, $200 or a $500 check for the foundation. We’ve mostly received private donations up to this point. I don’t know exactly how much we received, but it is in the thousands.
PBN: What is your view on the state in 2021 legalizing harm reduction centers, or safe injection sites, to operate in Rhode Island?
BUONOMANO: We looked at what the state of Rhode Island was doing, and it completely contradicts what DEA is saying. What the state is sending out to minors are crack pipes, straws to snort cocaine and fentanyl test strips. But you have to test the entire pill because if you don’t, [you may not find out if it has fentanyl in it]. The state shouldn’t be sending any of this out. Once you put those crack pipes and straws in the U.S. mail, it becomes a federal crime.
We went to one of two state opioid boards, and we said you’re sending this out to minors on how to use drugs safely, but where are they going to get the drugs? They’re going to go out on the street, buy cocaine or whatever, and it’s going to contain fentanyl. [The state] is saying to use drugs safely with a buddy. So, you could potentially kill one or two people.
It’s ludicrous to think the state is advocating and promoting buying drugs off the street, doing something illegal and how to use drugs safely. We, as citizens, have to uphold the law every day, but the state says use drugs safely. There [are] no more safe drugs. We presented [the state] the dangers and they looked at us like, “Well, we know what we’re doing and you don’t.” We did send to DEA a picture of what the state is distributing, but I don’t know if they contacted the state about it.
PBN: Are you optimistic that something can change with the state to help spread your message and initiative?
BUONOMANO: My goal is to get the state to adopt the DEA’s “One Pill Can Kill” program, but they have their own harm reduction agenda. The message DEA wants to get out there is that there’s no safe drug use.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.
