The television producer and the drug dealer were not strangers by the time Kiersten Cerveny entered the picture. Johnson had been a customer of Holder’s for years, as well as a sort-of partner in their drug and sex ring. In fact, the very evening of Dr. Cerveny’s untimely demise, Johnson made contact with Holder via text about buying drugs. The HBO producer had been out that night in October celebrating the upcoming start of shooting for his television show, The Deuce (ironically about New York’s porn industry), and decided to keep the party going with Cerveny.

This familiarity gave both men a measure of discretion that drove their poor actions when they discovered the dermatologist overdosing in Holder’s apartment. After years of being accomplices in illicit activities, neither man was new to hiding things from the authorities. However, their partnership did not make them close friends, as evidenced by Holder immediately abandoning Johnson after dropping Cerveny in his apartment building’s lobby.

Photo: New York Post