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Four men were charged with federal charges Wednesday in the overdose death of “The Wire” star Michael K. Williams, including one who walked free after reaching a favorable plea deal last year in two felony drug sales cases. sources said.
Irving Cartagena, Hector Robles, Luis Cruz and Carlos Macci are charged with narcotics conspiracy for distinguishing heroin laced with fentanyl that led to Williams’ overdose death in September 2021, federal prosecutors in Manhattan said.
The team sold the fentanyl-laced cocaine in plain sight outside 228 South 3rd Street near Havermeyer Street, hiding it behind trash cans, according to a federal complaint.
Arrested and Charged
Cartagena, also known as “Green Eyes,” was arrested on the same Williamsburg street corner in August 2020 and charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell, a class B felony, sources said. .
Cartagena was arrested in Puerto Rico on Tuesday and is expected to appear in federal court for the first time on Thursday.
Cruz, Robles and Macci appeared before Manhattan Federal Court Magistrate Judge Steward Aaron on Wednesday and were ordered held without bond.
Robles has already served 18 years in prison for a manslaughter conviction and Macci has 23 prior drug convictions, according to federal records and prosecutors.
Robles tried to run when police showed up Tuesday, but slipped and fell and was taken into custody, with 700 packets of heroin on him, according to US Attorney Micah Fergensen.
Fergensen said Cruz’s apartment was believed to be the gang’s “hideout spot,” saying police found 500 clear heroin envelopes there during a search Tuesday night.
He said they suspected the heroin was also laced with fentanyl.
“They knew that they sold these drugs to Michael Williams and he died,” the prosecutor told the judge. “They continued to sell these drugs to customers knowing that might be the last thing they do.”
Released without bond under the state’s bail reform law, Cartagena was rearrested on drug sales charges on February 10, 2021, allegedly selling $40 worth of heroin.
However, the cases were combined, which will allow him to plead guilty to disorderly conduct, a violation, according to the sources.
Investigation
“He committed everything to nothing and is back on the street,” a police source told The Post. “Ten days after pleading guilty to an infraction, he went back to selling.”
“The NYPD treats these cases the same way: We were going after him,” the source continued. “We locked him up twice.”
Cartagena’s plea deal was first reported by The Daily Beast.
Surveillance footage obtained by investigators shows Cartagena allegedly completing a one-on-one drug deal with Williams the day before he was found dead in his Williamsburg apartment on September 6, with drugs and drug paraphernalia near his body. .
“More specifically, the NYPD found, among other things: a white plate with white powder residue, a straw in the plate, and several glass cups marked with the stamp ‘AAA Insurance’ and scattered on and around the white plate. ,” the complaint said.
The residue was sent to an NYPD lab and tested positive for heroin and fentanyl, according to the complaint.
The equipment was set up outside a building next to where Macci, 70, lives, prosecutors said in court.
Cartagena had sold drugs to undercover
According to the federal complaint, Cartagena had sold drugs to undercover informants for months before Williams’ death.
In addition to Cartagena, the other three defendants were also known by their street names: Robles as “Oreja” or ears, Cuz as “Mostro” and Macci as “Carlito,” according to the feds.
The four men continued to sell the deadly drugs out of residential buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan, even after learning their stash allegedly killed Williams, the feds said.
In fact, federal prosecutors said undercover informants bought another drug from dealers the day after Williams’ body was found.
“This is a public health crisis. And this has to end. Deadly opioids like fentanyl and heroin don’t care who you are or what you’ve accomplished. They simply fuel addiction and lead to tragedy,” US Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement announcing the arrests.
Michael K. Williams died at the age of 54 on September 6, 2021.
Macci’s attorney, Ben Zeman, argued that this client “is not so much a lifelong drug dealer as he is a lifelong drug user.”
Williams, 54, a Brooklyn-born actor, was best known for his role as Omar Little on the hit HBO series “The Wire.”
He sported a trademark scar on his face, which he got when a fight broke out while celebrating his 25th birthday.
At that time, he was working as a dancer in music videos, including for Madonna and George Michael.
Later, his career took off, with roles in “Law & Order” and “The Sopranos” before landing his breakout role in “The Wire.”
