New York— A New York City drug dealer who admitted to selling the fentanyl-laced heroin that murdered a well-known transgender activist was sentenced to 19 years in federal prison on Tuesday, prosecutors announced.
Michael Kuilan, 45, of Brooklyn, was also sentenced to pay $24,482 in restitution while forfeiting $30,000 and a seized handgun.
“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 previous state felony convictions for dealing heroin before pleading guilty to federal charges last year, according to authorities.
At his sentencing in Brooklyn federal court, he faced up to 20 years in prison for drug distribution and up to 35 years for felony firearm possession.
Kuilan’s attorney did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
His co-defendant, Long Island’s Antonio Venti, 53, was sentenced to five years in federal prison in February after pleading guilty to the identical narcotics violation the previous year.
Prosecutors said text messages, cell site data, and other evidence revealed Kuilan provided Venti with narcotics, which he subsequently sold to Gentili.
According to authorities, the 52-year-old Brooklyn resident died in her bedroom on February 6, 2024, from a combination of fentanyl, heroin, xylazine, and cocaine.
The former sex worker had been a strong champion for other transgender persons, as well as sex workers and HIV patients.
She also appeared in the FX television series “Pose,” which portrayed the underground ballroom dance culture in the 1980s and 1990s.
Gentili’s well-attended funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan sparked fury among some in the Catholic community, including the church’s own pastor.