- Four men were arrested in connection to actor Michael K. Williams'
overdose death in September 2021. - Prosecutors allege Irvin Cartagena sold Williams the
drugs , citing surveillance camera footage.
Four men have been arrested and face federal charges in connection with actor Michael K. Williams' overdose death, New York authorities announced on Wednesday.
Williams — a prolific actor who starred in HBO's hit series "The Wire" and "Boardwalk Empire" — was found dead in his apartment in September at age 54. His cause of death was later ruled a drug overdose.
According to the US District Attorney's office, Williams died due to fentanyl-laced heroin.
One of the four men arrested, Irvin Cartagena, sold the drugs to Williams in September before his death, prosecutors said.
The drugs sale was caught on surveillance camera, according to the district attorney's office.
Three others — Hector Robles, Luis Cruz, and Carlos Macci — were also arrested and accused of taking part in a drug trafficking operation involving the fentanyl-laced heroin that led to Williams' death.
"We will continue to hold accountable the dealers who push this poison, exploit addiction, and cause senseless death," US attorney Damian Williams said on Wednesday.
According to the criminal complaints filed against the four men, investigators had already nabbed Cartagena selling drugs in February 2021 — he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and received a sentence of time served.
One day after Williams' death, investigators sent a criminal informant to the location where Williams bought the tainted heroin. The informant said he purchased heroin from and spoke with Cruz and Robles, who denied the drugs were laced with anything, saying they "don't fuck with that."
After sending the heroin purchases to a lab, each tested positive for fentanyl and fentanyl analogs.
Investigators soon after sent an undercover police officer to the scene several times through January 2022. The complaint alleges the officer purchased more than "80 grams of substances containing heroin, fentanyl, and/or para-fluorofentanyl" from Macci, Cruz, Robles, and Cartagena.
The four men were scheduled to be arraigned on the charges in court on Wednesday. Court records did not indicate whether the four had hired attorneys yet in the case.