‘I am beyond sorry,’ says Bethlehem man who sold friend a fatal overdose of drugs

The two men were friends who had gone through rehab together. They both came from good families that tried to save them from the horrors of heroin addiction.

One of the men, 31-year-old Russ A. Snyder, lost that battle, dying from a fentanyl overdose in Bethlehem Township, his parents discovering his body.

The other, Matthew S. Rush, will serve four to 10 years in state prison for supplying Snyder the drugs, a $150 drug deal that cost a life.

On Wednesday, two families cried as Northampton County President Judge Michael Koury Jr. imposed the sentence under a plea agreement in which Rush previously admitted to drug delivery resulting in death, a felony that is part of the state’s homicide law.

As the hearing broke, Snyder’s parents, Paul and Arlene, walked in the audience toward Rush’s mother and father, Maria and Stephen. Then something surprising happened: The two families embraced, for a moment sharing their grief as they fought tears.

“Out of the bottom of my heart, I am beyond sorry,” Rush said in court moments before. He addressed Snyder’s parents directly: “Please know that I am doing everything I can to change my life.”

Russ Snyder overdosed June 15, 2018. Text messages showed it was Rush, 31, of Bethlehem, who brought him the drugs. But in those same messages, Rush also warned his friend that the batch was potent — a reality highlighted by defense attorney Philip Lauer, who said it showed his client had concern for Snyder.

Snyder, who had a longstanding struggle with addiction, left behind a 7-year-old son whose father is now “only a picture on the wall,” Snyder’s parents said in a prepared statement read in court by Deputy District Attorney Joseph Lupackino. They said they carry Snyder’s death with them from the moment they wake up to the moment they fall asleep.

“Two families have been destroyed by the delivery of drugs that fatal night,” Paul and Arlene Snyder wrote. “What do you say to your 7-year-old grandson when he asks that all he wants from Santa is to bring his dad back?"

Rush’s family described him as sensitive, kind and filled with remorse, and said he fought addiction for 14 years.

“Our hope and prayers are that Mr. and Mrs. Snyder will one day forgive Matthew,” Rush’s mother, Maria, said in court. “And, our hope and prayers are that one day Matthew can forgive himself.”