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Bronx day care owner pleads guilty to drug conspiracy charges a year after child died
By
Brittany Kriegstein
and
David Giambusso
Published Oct 30, 2024
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images
By
Brittany Kriegstein
and
David Giambusso
Published Oct 30, 2024
Share
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The woman who ran a Bronx day care where a toddler died of fentanyl poisoning has pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges, prosecutors said, in a case that still has local parents on edge more than a year later.
Grei Mendez, whose husband Felix Herrera Garcia already pleaded guilty, could face decades in prison after 22-month-old Nicholas Dominici died in her care and three other children were hospitalized from exposure to fentanyl. Prosecutors said Mendez, 36, her husband and other conspirators were running a fentanyl distribution operation out of their Bronx home, where Mendez was simultaneously running a day care.
“Mendez’s reprehensible conduct resulted in the needless and tragic death of a child, and the poisoning of three others,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Damian Williams, whose office was prosecuting the case. “From the beginning, this case has shown the senseless collateral damage caused by the fentanyl epidemic, and should remind us all that the demand for illegal narcotics so often puts innocent bystanders at risk while drug traffickers ruthlessly pursue profits.”
Following Dominici’s death in September 2023, investigators discovered large quantities of fentanyl hidden around the daycare facility in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx — including under the floor where children took their naps. Officials later determined the children had ingested a little bit of the deadly drug. Four children were hospitalized, though Dominici could not be revived.
Court documents described how Herrera Garcia, along with other conspirators, used the same bowls, pans and sponges in their kitchen to package large quantities of fentanyl as they did to prepare food for the kids.
The documents also describe previous incidents where Herrera Garcia and others in his family were affected by the powerful drugs they were selling. In October 2022, Herrera Garcia’s own brother apparently died of fentanyl poisoning while packaging drugs in another Bronx apartment. The documents state that Herrera Garcia simply combined his brother’s stash with his own at the day care, and continued on.
Mendez’s trial was set to begin next month. She could face more than 40 years in prison.
Tagged
child care
public safety
opioids
bronx
fentanyl
Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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David Giambusso
David is the editor of the Day-of desk. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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