NEW YORK (AP) — Four men face charges that they were members of the drug distribution crew that supplied a deadly mix of narcotics to Michael K. Williams, the renowned actor from “The Wire” who overdosed just hours after buying fentanyl-laced heroin in a deal recorded on security camera video.
The man seen on camera handing Williams the drugs on a Brooklyn sidewalk, Irvin Cartagena, was charged with directly causing the actor’s death, authorities said.
Williams’ death was investigated by the New York City police department, but the charges were brought by federal prosecutors in Manhattan, who revealed that the suspects had been under surveillance even before the actor’s fatal overdose last September.
It was a sting that bore a striking resemblance to the kind depicted on “The Wire,” where Williams gained fame playing the bandit Omar Little.
For months, a paid informant working for the NYPD had been making controlled buys of heroin on the same block where Williams purchased his drugs. An undercover police officer made one buy just days before the actor copped his fatal dose, court papers said……..
https://apnews.com/article/d5cae927130c868486331789f876561b