Overview

• On May 27, 2025, U.S. District Judge Brian M. Cogan sentenced 45-year-old Michael Kuilan to 19 years in federal prison for distributing the fatal fentanyl-heroin mixture.
• The judge also imposed a concurrent 15-year term for unlawful firearm possession and ordered $24,482 in restitution along with forfeiture of $30,000 and a seized handgun.
• Prosecutors presented evidence that Kuilan supplied hundreds of fentanyl glassine envelopes to co-defendant Antonio Venti, who received a five-year prison term in February for selling the same mixture to Cecilia Gentili.
• Gentili, founder of Trans Equity Consulting, died on February 6, 2024, from a toxic combination of fentanyl, heroin, xylazine and cocaine.
• Federal officials say the verdict underscores efforts to hold individual suppliers accountable as synthetic opioid fatalities surge among vulnerable communities.