Latest news with #Gentili
Winnipeg Free Press
28-05-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Dealer gets 19 years in prison for providing drugs that killed prominent NYC transgender activist
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City drug dealer who admitted providing the fentanyl-laced heroin that killed a prominent transgender activist was sentenced Tuesday to 19 years in federal prison, prosecutors said. Michael Kuilan, 45, of Brooklyn, was also ordered to pay $24,482 in restitution and forfeit $30,000 and a seized firearm. 'Cecilia Gentili was tragically poisoned from fentanyl-laced heroin,' U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella said in a statement. 'Today, the perpetrators who sold the deadly drugs to Gentili are being held accountable.' Kuilan had three prior state felony convictions related to selling heroin before he pleaded guilty to the federal charges last year, according to prosecutors. He faced up to 20 years in prison for the drug distribution charge and up to 35 years for unlawful possession of a firearm as a felon at his sentencing in Brooklyn federal court. Kuilan's lawyer didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. His co-defendant, Antonio Venti, 53, of Long Island, was sentenced in February to five years in federal prison after also pleading guilty to the same drug offense last year. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. Prosecutors said text messages, cell site data, and other evidence showed that Kuilan had supplied Venti with drugs that he then sold to Gentili. The 52-year-old Brooklyn resident was found dead in her bedroom from the combined effect of fentanyl, heroin, xylazine and cocaine on Feb. 6, 2024 — the day after purchasing the drugs, according to prosecutors. The former sex worker had been a leading advocate for other transgender people, as well as sex workers and people with HIV. She also acted in the FX television series 'Pose,' about the underground ballroom dance scene in the 1980s and 1990s. Gentili's well-attended funeral at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan drew outrage from some in the Catholic community, including from the venerable church's own pastor.
San Francisco Chronicle
28-05-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Dealer gets 19 years in prison for providing drugs that killed prominent NYC transgender activist
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City drug dealer who admitted providing the fentanyl-laced heroin that killed a prominent transgender activist was sentenced Tuesday to 19 years in federal prison, prosecutors said. Michael Kuilan, 45, of Brooklyn, was also ordered to pay $24,482 in restitution and forfeit $30,000 and a seized firearm. 'Cecilia Gentili was tragically poisoned from fentanyl-laced heroin,' U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella said in a statement. 'Today, the perpetrators who sold the deadly drugs to Gentili are being held accountable.' Kuilan had three prior state felony convictions related to selling heroin before he pleaded guilty to the federal charges last year, according to prosecutors. He faced up to 20 years in prison for the drug distribution charge and up to 35 years for unlawful possession of a firearm as a felon at his sentencing in Brooklyn federal court. His co-defendant, Antonio Venti, 53, of Long Island, was sentenced in February to five years in federal prison after also pleading guilty to the same drug offense last year. Prosecutors said text messages, cell site data, and other evidence showed that Kuilan had supplied Venti with drugs that he then sold to Gentili. The 52-year-old Brooklyn resident was found dead in her bedroom from the combined effect of fentanyl, heroin, xylazine and cocaine on Feb. 6, 2024 — the day after purchasing the drugs, according to prosecutors. The former sex worker had been a leading advocate for other transgender people, as well as sex workers and people with HIV. She also acted in the FX television series 'Pose,' about the underground ballroom dance scene in the 1980s and 1990s. Gentili's well-attended funeral at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan drew outrage from some in the Catholic community, including from the venerable church's own pastor.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Dealer gets 19 years in prison for providing drugs that killed prominent NYC transgender activist
NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City drug dealer who admitted providing the fentanyl-laced heroin that killed a prominent transgender activist was sentenced Tuesday to 19 years in federal prison, prosecutors said. Michael Kuilan, 45, of Brooklyn, was also ordered to pay $24,482 in restitution and forfeit $30,000 and a seized firearm. 'Cecilia Gentili was tragically poisoned from fentanyl-laced heroin,' U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella said in a statement. 'Today, the perpetrators who sold the deadly drugs to Gentili are being held accountable.' Kuilan had three prior state felony convictions related to selling heroin before he pleaded guilty to the federal charges last year, according to prosecutors. He faced up to 20 years in prison for the drug distribution charge and up to 35 years for unlawful possession of a firearm as a felon at his sentencing in Brooklyn federal court. Kuilan's lawyer didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. His co-defendant, Antonio Venti, 53, of Long Island, was sentenced in February to five years in federal prison after also pleading guilty to the same drug offense last year. Prosecutors said text messages, cell site data, and other evidence showed that Kuilan had supplied Venti with drugs that he then sold to Gentili. The 52-year-old Brooklyn resident was found dead in her bedroom from the combined effect of fentanyl, heroin, xylazine and cocaine on Feb. 6, 2024 — the day after purchasing the drugs, according to prosecutors. The former sex worker had been a leading advocate for other transgender people, as well as sex workers and people with HIV. She also acted in the FX television series 'Pose,' about the underground ballroom dance scene in the 1980s and 1990s. Gentili's well-attended funeral at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan drew outrage from some in the Catholic community, including from the venerable church's own pastor.
Hindustan Times
28-05-2025
- Hindustan Times
Dealer gets 19 years in prison for providing drugs that killed prominent NYC transgender activist
NEW YORK — A New York City drug dealer who admitted providing the fentanyl-laced heroin that killed a prominent transgender activist was sentenced Tuesday to 19 years in federal prison, prosecutors said. Michael Kuilan, 45, of Brooklyn, was also ordered to pay $24,482 in restitution and forfeit $30,000 and a seized firearm. 'Cecilia Gentili was tragically poisoned from fentanyl-laced heroin,' U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella said in a statement. 'Today, the perpetrators who sold the deadly drugs to Gentili are being held accountable.' Kuilan had three prior state felony convictions related to selling heroin before he pleaded guilty to the federal charges last year, according to prosecutors. He faced up to 20 years in prison for the drug distribution charge and up to 35 years for unlawful possession of a firearm as a felon at his sentencing in Brooklyn federal court. Kuilan's lawyer didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. His co-defendant, Antonio Venti, 53, of Long Island, was sentenced in February to five years in federal prison after also pleading guilty to the same drug offense last year. Prosecutors said text messages, cell site data, and other evidence showed that Kuilan had supplied Venti with drugs that he then sold to Gentili. The 52-year-old Brooklyn resident was found dead in her bedroom from the combined effect of fentanyl, heroin, xylazine and cocaine on Feb. 6, 2024 — the day after purchasing the drugs, according to prosecutors. The former sex worker had been a leading advocate for other transgender people, as well as sex workers and people with HIV. She also acted in the FX television series 'Pose,' about the underground ballroom dance scene in the 1980s and 1990s. Gentili's well-attended funeral at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan drew outrage from some in the Catholic community, including from the venerable church's own pastor.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Brooklyn man who supplied drugs that killed transgender activist Cecilia Gentili gets 19 years
A convicted felon who supplied the dose of fentanyl-laced heroin that killed transgender activist Cecilia Gentili will spend the next 19 years in prison, a federal judge in Brooklyn ruled Tuesday. Michael Kulian, 45, provided the drugs to Gentili's dealer and friend, Antonio Venti, and on Feb. 6, the 52-year-old activist and author died of the combined effects of fentanyl, heroin, xylazine and cocaine after Venti sold her the deadly 'bundle,' according to prosecutors. When law enforcement searched Kulian's Brooklyn home, which he shared with his elderly grandmother, they found 850 glassine envelopes containing a total 32.264 grams of fentanyl, as well as a digital scale, a .45 caliber handgun and ammo. On Tuesday, Judge Brian Cogan told Kulian that the 19-year sentence would send a message of deterrence, and ordered him remanded to start serving his time. Kuilan pleaded guilty in September to federal drug distribution and gun possession charges in Brooklyn Federal Court for his role in Gentili's death. Venti took a plea deal on July 18, 2024. Cogan sentenced him to five years behind bars in March. 'Gentili's death represents the loss of an outspoken advocate on behalf of a marginalized community. But her death is one of tens of thousands of such tragedies across this country,' Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Amir wrote in a March 4 letter to the judge, pointing out that fentanyl or other synthetic opioids caused more than 81,000 overdose deaths in 2023. 'The defendant is not individually responsible for the magnitude of this crisis, but he is accountable for his choice to help perpetuate it — and the seriousness of the crisis thus warrants commensurately serious punishment,' he wrote. As part of their deals, both men admitted that their product caused Gentili's death. 'Cecilia Gentili was tragically poisoned from fentanyl-laced heroin. Today, the perpetrators who sold the deadly drugs to Gentili are being held accountable,' Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella said Tuesday. 'This office will be relentless in prosecuting fentanyl dealers.' Prosecutors were recommending roughly 22 to 27 years behind bars. Gentili founded Trans Equity Consulting, a New York City-based firm that offers guidance to the LGBTQ community and has a health care clinic at Callen Lorde, a center for LGBTQ+ healthcare. Previously, she was director of policy at Gay Men's Health Crisis. She also lobbied for the passage of the New York State Gender Expression and Discrimination Act, which became law in 2019, and was an actress on the television show 'Pose.' Her Feb. 15 funeral at Manhattan's venerable St. Patrick's Cathedral drew backlash and was denounced by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who decried the 'the irreverence and the disrespect' of the mourners and requested a rare Mass of Reparation to pray for forgiveness. Gentili's family called the Church's reaction 'sanctimonious' and said the funeral brought 'precious life and radical joy to the Cathedral in historic defiance of the Church's hypocrisy and anti-trans hatred.'
