Grei Mendez, owner of a Bronx daycare, was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to narcotics charges linked to a fentanyl poisoning incident that resulted in the death of a 22-month-old boy, Nicholas Dominici. More than 11 kilograms of fentanyl were found stashed in the daycare's apartment. Three other children were hospitalized but survived. Mendez's husband received the same sentence, and another co-conspirator has also pleaded guilty. Mendez faces additional charges in Bronx Criminal Court related to murder and narcotics.
"No punishment can make up for a child lost, but today's sentence sends the message that this Office and our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to bring to justice anyone who uses children as a shield in the drug trade."
Grei Mendez, 37, was handed down the sentence on March 3 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York after pleading guilty to narcotics charges in October 2024.
Prosecutors said Mendez and her co-conspirators, including her husband, stashed more than 11 kilograms of fentanyl beneath the floorboards of the Bronx apartment that housed Divino Niño, the daycare she owned.
At the time of the incident, Divino Niño was a newly opened, properly licensed facility. A city inspection had found no violations.
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