Two men pleaded guilty on Monday to distributing drugs that killed a well-known advocate for transgender and sex worker rights, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of New York said.
Michael Kuilan, 44, and Antonio Venti, 52, were charged with distributing and possessing with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl that was sold to Cecilia Gentili, who advocated for trans rights and helped launch efforts to decriminalize sex work in the state. Their attorney information was not immediately available.
“These drugs, heroin and fentanyl, have caused so much pain throughout our community,” U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement. “I hope this case will bring a sense of closure to Gentili’s family and serve as a warning that this Office will be relentless in holding fentanyl dealers accountable.”
The news comes months after Gentili was found dead in her Brooklyn bedroom last February. Her death sent shockwaves through the local public health community, prompting outpourings of grief and statements from activists, the LGBTQ+ community and elected officials. The two men were charged with distributing the drugs in April.
Authorities combed through text messages and cell site data to determine that Venti sold Gentili the heroin and fentanyl mixture, which had been supplied by Kuilan, according to court documents. Authorities also searched Kuilan’s home, where they found “hundreds of baggies of fentanyl,” the U.S. attorney’s office said. Kuilan also pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
“While these guilty pleas can’t undo the tragic loss of transgender rights activist Cecelia Gentili, it sends a message that we will do everything we can to make sure those responsible for drug related deaths face the consequences for their actions, and the families of those who lost their lives receive justice,” said Frank Tarentino, special agent in charge at the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York division.