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Michael Kuilan, age 44, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing heroin and fentanyl in Brooklyn federal court Monday, Sept. 23, in the death of Cecilia Gentili.
It came weeks after Long Island resident Antonio Venti, age 52, of West Babylon, pleaded guilty to the same drug offenses.
According to prosecutors, Venti and Kuilan sold heroin laced with fentanyl to Gentili. NYPD officers responded to the 52-year-old’s Brooklyn home on Feb. 6 following a 911 call from her partner.
Gentili was found dead in her bedroom. An autopsy determined that she died from the combined effect of fentanyl, heroin, xylazine, and cocaine.
Text messages, cell phone data, and other evidence showed that Venti sold the fentanyl and heroin mixture to Gentili one day before her death, according to prosecutors. Kuilan was accused of supplying Venti with the lethal drugs.
Federal agents reportedly found hundreds of baggies of fentanyl, as well as a handgun and ammunition, inside Kuilan’s apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
“The perpetrators of the tragic poisoning of Cecilia Gentili, a prominent leader of the New York transgender community, have now both admitted their guilt in selling the lethal drugs that have caused this heartbreaking death,” said US Attorney Breon Peace.
“These drugs, heroin and fentanyl, have caused so much pain throughout our community. 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.”
Both men were indicted in April 2024. They now face up to life in prison.
Gentili held leadership positions for New York City-based HIV and AIDS care nonprofits GMHC and APICHA. She also co-founded a free clinic for sex workers at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in Manhattan.
“Cecilia was THE ONE,” reads a Facebook post from Sean Coleman, an executive director at the nonprofit Destination Tomorrow, which creates programs for members of the LGBT community.
“She was a brilliant strategist who understood perfectly how to bring people together. She knew what to say, in just the right moment and tone to get you to think, or shift your mood completely,” he said.
“She was so talented and so loving. Cecilia gave so much of herself to this community. She wanted so much for us as a community, it truly was her life’s work.”
Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD, called Gentili’s death “a huge loss” in a tribute on X.
“She impacted so many, especially those in the trans community in New York City and beyond,” she said. “This is the power of one person who used her identity and gifts to help more people be seen and heard.”
In addition to her activism, Gentili had a starring role as Ms. Orlando on the hit FX series, Pose.
She also mounted a comedic one-woman show in 2017 titled, "The Knife Cuts Both Ways," and released her debut book, "Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t My Rapist," in 2022.
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