From Space to Smoke: Omar de Frias Resigns from NASA. Springfield, VA (October 17, 2016) – Omar de Frias, owner of Fratello Cigars, has resigned from NASA after more than a decade.
Fratello Cigars entered the market back in 2013. Since Omar de Frias started the brand, they have grown to a presence in more than 800 brick and mortar shops in the United States. They also are being sold in 9 international locations. The company announced today the hiring of Shannon Strang as the new Director of Operations for Fratello Cigars. Ms. Strang is a native of Pittsburgh, and she comes to Fratello with much experience in accounting, business development, logistics and customer service.
Fratello Cigars has announced a new cigar today, the Fratello Arlequin Prensado. A preview was given for this blend in June 2019 with the Space Fresh Packs along with Sorella and Arlequin, Fratello Classico, and Fratello Bianco II all in a new 6 x 50 format. The idea was that consumers would give feedback and tell the company their preference for either the Sorella or Arlequin.
Today, Omar de Frias, owner of Fratello Cigars, announced Navetta Inverso, which translates to “inverted shuttle” in Italian. It will make its debut at this years IPCPR trade show in Las Vegas. The idea behind the blend is that is uses the same tobacco as the regular Navetta line, but in reverse order. So the tobacco previously used for the wrapper and binder are now the filler, and the filler are now the binder and wrapper.
Today, Omar de Frias announced new packing for Fratello Cigars Bianco and Fratello lines. The original Fratello blend will now be called the Fratello Classico. The blends remain unchanged.
Fratello Cigars will soon be launching their third store-exclusive cigar. The Esclusivo will be made for and sold only by Old Virginia Tobacco Co. The Fratello Esclusivo is a 5x52 Piramide and will be available in 20-count boxes.
Omar de Frias announced today that Fratello Cigars would partner with W. Curtis Draper Tobacconist to offer discounts for federal employees in the DC area affected by the government shutdown. This is the longest government shutdown in our history and affects over 800,000 federal workers either furloughed or forced to work without pay.
Fratello Cigars announced today the shipment of their new Camo series. These new bundle cigars were announced in January just before the TPE trade show.
Omar de Frias announced that Samuel Dietz has been hired at Fratello Cigars as the Director of Sales for the Mid-Atlantic.
Springfield, VA (June 16, 2017) – Omar de Frias is proud to announce Fratello Navetta debut at the IPCPR 2017. Translated shuttle in Italian, Fratello Navetta is a dream project de Frias envisioned while at NASA.



