NYC daycare operator tried to cover up drug ring role before toddler's fentanyl overdose death: Feds

American federal prosecutors have alleged that the operator of a daycare in New York City, where a one-year-old child died after being exposed to fentanyl (at the premises), took steps to cover up her involvement in a drug operation, according to a report by the news agency Associated Press on Monday (September 19). One-year-old Nicholas Dominici died and three other children were hospitalised from a kilogramme of fentanyl which was found under a nap mat at the daycare.

The report said that daycare owner Grei Mendez, and a man who rented a room from her, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, were hit with new federal narcotics conspiracy charges Tuesday. The two had been previously charged in state court with murder of “depraved indifference” in the death of Dominici.

Authorities are on the lookout for a third suspect- Mendez’s husband and a cousin to Brito, who fled shortly after learning of the apparent exposure.

The investigation

As per the report, officials said that they discovered a kilogramme of fentanyl stored on top of playmats used by children who attended the daycare, which operated out of a small apartment in the Bronx.

The officials also found multiple devices for mixing the powerful synthetic opioid with other narcotics and pressing it into bricks.

Also watch: Fentanyl overdose crisis in USA: An American drug epidemic | Dark World

On Tuesday, Grei Mendez, 36, appeared in Manhattan federal court and denied any knowledge of the drug operation. Mendez's lawyer, meanwhile, said that the allegations were related to her husband’s actions, not hers.

The prosecutors' accusation

Federal prosecutors accused Mendez of playing a role in the drug distribution ring as well as helping her husband escape. Last Friday, after discovering that the three children in her daycare were not waking up from their nap, the 36-year-old made three calls, including two to her husband, before dialling 911, prosecutors added.

Minutes after the calls were made, Mendez's husband was seen entering the apartment, and then whisking at least two full shopping bags out of the building through a back alley, the report said.

Brandon Thompson, an assistant US attorney in Manhattan, said that the phone calls along with the apparent deletion of thousands of text messages between Mendez and her husband suggested an effort to cover up the drug operation.

Mendez's lawyer denied the allegations of the cover-up and said the woman panicked after finding the sick children and only spoke to her husband for 10 seconds before calling 911.

Federal Judge Jennifer Willis sided with the prosecutors and ordered that Mendez would be held in federal custody without bail.

Meanwhile, Carlisto Acevedo Brito was charged alongside Mendez for his alleged role in the drug operations. The report further said that both Brito and Mendez face the possibility of life in prison if convicted on the federal charges.

(With inputs from agencies)

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