Operator of NYC Day Care Where Toddler Died From Fentanyl Poisoning Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges

A woman who operated a New York City day care center in the Bronx where a 22-month-old boy died of fentanyl poisoning in September 2023 pleaded guilty on Tuesday to federal drug charges, officials said.
Grei Mendez entered the guilty plea in Manhattan to charges including conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death and possession with intent to distribute narcotics resulting in death, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Mendez faces a minimum of 20 years and a maximum of life in prison.
Mendez’s plea comes more than a year after four children under the age of three were hospitalized for suspected fentanyl poisoning after exposure to the drug at the Divino Niño day care center in the Bronx. Nicholas Dominici, a 22-month-old boy, died in hospital while the remaining three children recovered after hospital treatment….