Michael K. Williams

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Source: Variety / Getty
A drug dealer was sentenced to 30 months in prison in connection with the overdose death of actor Michael K. Williams.
On Tuesday (July 25), Carlos Macci entered the Federal District Court in Manhattan, New York. Addressing the court and U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams, Macci said “I would like to say, your honor, I’m sorry for what has happened.” Judge Abrams then sentenced the 72-year-old to two and a half years in prison.

Macci also was sentenced to three years of supervised release with the first year requiring him to be an inpatient at a drug treatment facility. “I don’t think people need to be defined by the worst mistake they’ve ever made,” Judge Abrams said. “You still have a chance to define yourself in a positive way.”
Before her decision was made, there were those who appeared at the hearing to ask for leniency for Macci in the sentencing. Williams’ nephew, Dominic Dupont, said: “It weighs heavy on me to see someone be in a situation he’s in. I understand what it is to be system impacted.”
David Simon, the creator of the HBO series The Wire in which Williams famously starred, submitted a three-page letter to the judge also asking for leniency, citing Macci’s age and his illiteracy. “What happened to Mike is a grievous tragedy,” Simon wrote. “But I know that Michael would look upon the undone and desolate life of Mr. Macci and know two things with certainty: First, that it was Michael who bears the fuller responsibility for what happened.” Judge Abrams would later state that she disagreed with Simon about the responsibility of overdoses laying with the victims.
Macci pled guilty in April along with three other men to conspiracy to possess and sell narcotics. This group also includes Irwin Cartagena, also known as “Green Eyes” who was identified by police as the head of the operation who sold Williams the drugs. The veteran actor who also starred in HBO’s Boardwalk Empire and Lovecraft Country, died of an overdose in his Brooklyn apartment in September 2021. He was 54. After the sentencing, Dupont referred to it as a “sad day.” “There are no winners today,” he said to reporters.

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