Arrests Made in Investigation of ‘Pose’ Actress Cecilia Gentili’s Fentanyl-Related Death

Debraylife – Cecilia Gentili, a transgender activist and Pose star, died in February from fentanyl and heroin overdose, and two men have been charged with their distribution.

The pills that murdered Gentili on February 6 were allegedly supplied by Michael Kuilan, 44, of Brooklyn, and Antonio Venti, 52, of West Babylon, New York, according to the four-count indictment. Federal prosecutors in New York released the indictments today.

Gentili’s cause of death was revealed for the first time today, according to the statement made by police enforcement.

Breon Peace, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, stated in the statement that Cecilia Gentili, a well-known activist and leader of the transgender community in New York, was cruelly poisoned in her Brooklyn home by heroin laced with fentanyl.

The accused offenders who supplied Gentili with the lethal dosage of narcotics have been taken into custody today. The public health crisis is fentanyl. For the numerous New Yorkers who have lost loved ones to this deadly poison, our office will stop at nothing to bring them to justice.

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As per the indictment and court records, Gentili’s long-term partner phoned the police on February 6 at her Brooklyn apartment. Officials now claim that “the combined effect of fentanyl, heroin, xylazine, and cocaine” is what killed the Pose actress, who was discovered dead in her bedroom.

Text messages, phone site information, and further proof showed that on February 5, Venti sold Gentili the combination of heroin and fentanyl and that Kuilan had provided Venti with the deadly drugs.

Kuilan’s flat in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, was searched, and what police discovered is described in the indictment as “hundreds of baggies of fentanyl, a handgun, and ammunition.” Kuilan is accused of possessing an illegal handgun in addition to the drug accusations.

The indictment states that after buying the pills from Venti on the evening of February 5, Gentili went back to her residence. Gentili went to bed and was discovered dead there the next morning after informing her partner that she felt sick.

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An abundance of tributes and condolences followed Gentili’s passing. Her legacy of “movement, love, and compassion unapologetic and true,” according to Pose co-star Dominique Jackson, was left behind.

Pose co-stars Billy Porter and Indya Moore were among the numerous people who attended Gentili’s burial at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. In a statement, the New York Archdiocese claimed that it was tricked into permitting the cathedral funeral and that it “had no idea our welcome and prayer would be degraded in such a sacrilegious and deceptive way.”

DEA Special Agent Frank Tarantino stated in today’s release that “Ms. Gentile’s passing serves as a reminder of the dangers that illicit drugs pose to all communities, including the LGBTQ+ community.”