Two men charged with distributing illicit drugs in death of transgender activist
Two men were charged with distributing illicit drugs that caused the death of prominent transgender activist, author and actor Cecilia Gentili last month, the Department of Justice said.
Two men were charged with distributing illicit drugs that caused the death of prominent transgender activist, author and actor Cecilia Gentili last month, the Department of Justice announced Monday.
Michael Kuilan, 44, and Antonio Venti, 52, were charged with distributing a fentanyl and heroin mixture to Gentili, 52, who died from an overdose on Feb. 6, the DOJ said in a joint statement with the New York City Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
“Today’s indictment delivers a strong message to anyone who profits from poisoning our communities with illicit drugs: There are dedicated investigators, across multiple agencies, working tirelessly to disrupt your shameful industry by pinpointing the source of these unlawful substances,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said in the statement. “It is imperative that we continue to hold distributors accountable for their callous actions.”
Text messages, cellphone location data and other evidence revealed that Venti, a resident of West Babylon, New York, sold the fentanyl and heroin mixture to Gentili on Feb. 5, and that Kuilan, a Brooklyn resident, supplied Venti with the drugs, authorities said. Police went to Gentili’s Brooklyn home on Feb. 6, following a 911 call from her partner, and found the longtime activist dead in her bedroom, authorities said.
When law enforcement searched Kuilan’s Brooklyn apartment, the statement said, they found hundreds of baggies of fentanyl, a handgun and ammunition.
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