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A Brooklyn drug dealer pleaded guilty Monday to providing Cord actor Michael K. Williams with fentanyl-laced heroin, causing death.
Irvin Cartagena’s plea to charges of conspiracy to distribute drugs entered Manhattan federal court. Sentencing is set by US District Judge Ronnie Abrams for August 18, when Cartagena will face a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and possibly as many as 40 years.
Famous actors, who also starred in other films and TV series included Boardwalk Empire, died in a Brooklyn penthouse apartment in September 2021. Authorities say he died hours after buying heroin from Cartagena on a Brooklyn sidewalk in a deal that was recorded by security cameras.
Cartagena, 39, signed a plea agreement with prosecutors alleging that a mixture of heroin and fentanyl sold by Williams caused the death. His attorney, Sean Maher, declined comment.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, who is not related to the actor, said the sale happened “in broad daylight in New York City, feeding addiction and causing tragedy.”
“By doing so, he overcame the fatal dose that killed Michael K. Williams,” Williams said.
Continue to sell from the same batch, prosecutors said
Prosecutors said Cartagena and his alleged co-conspirators continued to sell fentanyl-laced heroin around residential apartment buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan even after they knew about the actor’s death. Another defendant in the case pleaded guilty on Tuesday.
Williams’ death came despite an investigation by the New York Police Department that placed a paid informant making a controlled heroin purchase on the same block where Williams bought drugs.
The day after, the informant returned to buy more drugs from the same group and recorded a conversation in which several people talked about Williams’ overdose. One denied selling drugs containing fentanyl.
Williams’ “stick-up boy” character Omar Little Cord – a fictional look at the Baltimore foundation that ended in 2008 but remains popular on streaming – based on a real person.
He also appeared in 12 Years a Slave, Assassin’s Creed and other movies.
In interviews, Williams has talked about his battle with addiction.
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