Four men have been arrested for alleged involvement with a drug trafficking organization that sold ‘fentanyl-laced heroin’ to actor and producer Michael K. Williams.
Williams was an Emmy-nominated actor and producer, best known for his roles in ‘The Wire’, ‘12 Years a Slave’, and ‘Boardwalk Empire’. Williams was found dead in September of 2021 in his New York City apartment. Shortly after his death, the NY Medical Examiner’s Office determined Williams’ cause of death to be an accidental overdose.
Irvin Cartagena, 39, Hector Robles, 57, Luis Cruz, 56, and Carlos Macci, 70, were those arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of involvement. Each suspect was charged with ‘conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl analog, fentanyl, and heroin.’ These charges carry a minimum of five years in prison with a maximum sentence of forty.
Williams reportedly overdosed just hours after buying the laced product, as shown in a security camera video recorded drug deal. In this video, the interaction is allegedly between Williams and Cartagena – who is being charged with direct involvement in Williams’ death.
Prosecutors accused the four men of allegedly continuing the sale of fentanyl-laced heroin in the Manhattan and Brooklyn area, despite learning of Williams’ death.
Though the New York City police department had been in charge of investigating Williams’ death, federal prosecutors in Manhattan revealed that the suspects had been under surveillance even before Williams’ death. It was a months-long sting wherein an NYPD paid informant had been making controlled buys from the suspects on the same block that Williams bought on. The drug vials present at the scene of Williams’ death and in the possession of the paid informant were identical.
The day after Williams’ death, the NYPD informant bought from the suspects again but recorded a conversation among the four. Some of these members spoke of Williams’ OD.
Cartagena faces a minimum sentence of twenty years in prison with a maximum sentence of life in prison. Cartagena is to be arraigned in Puerto Rico’s federal court, where he was arrested, while Robles, Cruz, and Macci will be arraigned in Manhattan’s federal court before US Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron.
US Attorney Damian Williams announced the charges just yesterday, stating that overdose deaths are a public health crisis. And it has to stop.’
Attorney Williams further stated, ‘Deadly opioids like fentanyl and heroin don’t care about who you are or what you’ve accomplished,’ adding ‘they just feed addiction and lead to tragedy.’
Attorney Williams publicly stated that the District of New York and law enforcement would be relentless in their pursuit of the dealers ‘who push this poison, exploit addiction, and cause senseless death.’
