The owner of a Kingsbridge daycare where four children suffered fentanyl poisoning—resulting in the death of a 22-month-old boy—was sentenced to 45 years in federal prison.
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, Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky announced.
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. In September 2023, several children were exposed to the drugs, leading to the death of 22-month-old Nicholas Dominici. Three other children were hospitalized but survived.
At the time of the incident, Divino Niño was a newly opened, properly licensed facility. A city inspection had found no violations.
“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,” said Podolsky in announcing the sentence.
Mendez’s husband, Felix Herrera Garcia, also pleaded guilty and was sentenced last October to 45 years in prison, the same sentence as his wife. Another alleged co-conspirator, Renny Antonio Parra Paredes, pleaded guilty, while another, Carlisto Acevedo Brito, has pleaded not guilty.
Mendez also faces an ongoing case in Bronx Criminal Court with a top charge of murder by depraved indifference, along with narcotics charges. Defense attorney Javier Alberto Solano could not be reached for comment.
Reach Emily Swanson at [email protected] or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
