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HBO Producer Sentenced to a Year in Prison in Overdose Death of L.I. Doctor

By Ben Fractenberg | August 15, 2017 4:47pm
 Marc Henry Johnson was sentenced in connection to a Long Island doctor's overdose death.
Marc Henry Johnson was sentenced in connection to a Long Island doctor's overdose death.
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DNAinfo

MANHATTAN — An HBO producer who pleaded guilty to helping his drug dealer cover up the cocaine overdose death of a Long Island doctor was sentenced to one year in prison Tuesday, federal prosecutors said.

Marc Henry Johnson, 53, along with his dealer, James “Pepsi” Holder, dragged an unconscious 38-year-old Kiersten Cerveny, the mother of three, to the vestibule of his West 16th Street building in early morning hours of Oct. 4, 2015 before dialing 911.

Johnson declined to give his name to the emergency operator or explain why Cerveny was in distress.

The 38-year-old dermatologist and mother of three later died in the hospital.

“Faced with a choice between helping his long-time drug dealer avoid arrest or helping a woman survive a cocaine overdose, Marc Henry Johnson chose to help the drug dealer,” acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon Kim said in a statement. “For his callous and illegal choice, Johnson will now join that drug dealer in federal prison.”

Cerveny had been using cocaine when she met up with Johnson and a few other people earlier in the night before heading back to his apartment on West 16th near Seventh Avenue.

She was in his third-floor apartment for several hours before Johnson and Holder dragged her to the first floor. Holder then fled before the ambulance arrived. The producer left soon after the EMTs arrived on the scene.

Johnson, who produced a pilot for the upcoming James Franco series “The Deuce,” will also have to pay a $20,000 fine and have two years of supervised release.

Federal prosecutors had sought two years behind bars and $40,000 in restitution.

He pleaded guilty in March to acting as an accessory after the fact to a narcotics offense.

Holder pleaded guilty on Dec. 12, 2016 and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Johnson's lawyer did not return an immediate request for comment.