David Simon, the producer and co-creator of The Wire, has asked a Manhattan judge to show leniency in the sentencing of the man who sold heroin laced with fentanyl that killed late actor Michael K. Williams.
The New York Times obtained a three-page letter sent by Simon to Federal District Court Judge Ronnie Abrams asking for mercy for Carlos Macci, one of the four men that pleaded guilty to possessing and distributing the heroin Williams took in September 2021 that ended his life. According to Simon, the actor is more responsible for his death and no good will come from sentencing the 71-year-old drug dealer.
"What happened to Mike is a grievous tragedy," Simon wrote in the letter. "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."
Simon continued, "No possible good can come from incarcerating a 71-year-old soul, largely illiterate, who has himself struggled with a lifetime of addiction."
Simon also added that Macci sold drugs because he was wrapped up in the cycle of addiction and not to make money. The producer also spoke highly of his late friend, saying he was "one of the finest actors with whom I have had the honor to collaborate and one of the most thoughtful, gracious, and charitable souls I could ever call a friend.… I never failed to see him take responsibility for himself and his decisions."
Michael K. Williams died at the age of 54 in September 2021 after his nephew found him unresponsive in his Brooklyn apartment. The Chief Medical Examiner of New York City ruled Williams died after overdosing from a combination of cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, and parafluorofentanyl.
In February 2022, Irvin Cartagena, Hector Robles, Luis Cruz, and Carlos Macci were arrested in connection to Williams' death. In April of the following year, Cartagena, also known as "Green Eyes," was initially charged with narcotics conspiracy resulting in death but took a guilty plea that carried a lesser prison sentence of between 24 to 30 years.
Macci will be sentenced this month after pleading guilty to a narcotics conspiracy charge. Robles and Cruz have pleaded not guilty.
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