Earlier today, a federal court in Brooklyn sentenced Michael Kuilan to 19 years in prison for selling fentanyl and heroin that resulted in the fatal overdose of LGBTQ activist Cecilia Gentili. United States District Judge Brian M. Cogan ordered Kuilan to pay $24,482 in restitution and forfeit $30,000 along with a seized firearm. Kuilan was also sentenced to serve 15 years concurrently for unlawfully possessing a firearm as a felon. He has three prior state felony convictions related to heroin sales and pleaded guilty to the federal charges on September 23, 2024.
The announcement was made by Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Frank A. Tarentino, III, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); and Jessica Tisch, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (NYPD).
“Cecilia Gentili was tragically poisoned from fentanyl-laced heroin. Today, the perpetrators who sold the deadly drugs to Gentili are being held accountable,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “This Office will be relentless in prosecuting fentanyl dealers.”
Court documents revealed that on February 6, 2024, Gentili was found dead due to controlled substances including fentanyl, xylazine, cocaine, and heroin. Evidence showed that co-defendant Antonio Venti sold these substances to Gentili on February 5, 2024, supplied by Kuilan. A search of Kuilan's Williamsburg apartment uncovered hundreds of baggies of fentanyl along with a handgun and ammunition.
On February 12, 2025, Judge Cogan sentenced Venti to five years' imprisonment for his role in the offense.
The case is managed by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section with Assistant United States Attorney Adam Amir leading the prosecution assisted by Paralegal Specialist Samuel Ronchetti.
