A federal indictment unsealed this week charges two men, Antonio Venti and Michael Kuilan, with supplying the drugs that killed transgender activist Cecilia Gentili on February 6. Among other things, Venti and Kuilan are accused of causing Gentili's death by distributing a mixture of heroin and fentanyl, a felony punishable by a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life.
Gentili "was tragically poisoned in her Brooklyn home from fentanyl-laced heroin," says Breon Peace, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. "Fentanyl is a public health crisis. Our Office will spare no effort in the pursuit of justice for the many New Yorkers who have lost loved ones due to this lethal drug." The indictment "delivers a strong message to anyone who profits from poisoning our communities with illicit drugs," New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban adds. "It is imperative that we continue to hold distributors accountable for their callous actions."
