Owner of NYC day care where toddler fatally ingested fentanyl pleads guilty to federal charges

NEW YORK (AP) — A woman who owned a New York City day care center where a toddler died after ingesting fentanyl pleaded guilty to federal drug charges Tuesday.

More than a year after the September 2023 death of 22-month-old Nicholas Dominici, Grei Mendez entered the guilty plea in Manhattan to charges including conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death.

Earlier this month, her husband, Felix Herrera-Garcia, was sentenced to 45 years in prison after pleading guilty to drug charges and causing bodily harm.

Mendez, 37, cried briefly as she explained that she agreed with her husband and another person to possess and distribute drugs, then in September 2023 helped the pair package and store the narcotics in the Bronx apartment where she ran Divino Niño day care.

“This will haunt me for as long as I live," said Mendez, who has four children of her own.

Mendez said her husband encouraged her to open the day care center, and she believed he was doing it to help her. But she said as soon as the doors opened, she realized that it was actually a “perfect way to conceal his drug business.”

Mendez is due to be sentenced March 3. She faces a mandatory minimum of 20 years in prison and the potential for up to life behind bars.

Three other children exposed to the fentanyl at the day care survived after medics administered the overdose-reversing drug Narcan.

Police executing a search warrant on the Bronx apartment found a large quantity of fentanyl and other drug paraphernalia hidden beneath a trap door in the children’s play area. Photos shared by police at the time showed bags full of powder concealed by plywood and tile flooring.

Investigators also found a kilogram of fentanyl stored on top of playmats used by children and multiple devices for mixing the powder with other narcotics and pressing it into bricks.

Prosecutors have said Mendez also took steps to cover up the drug operation after realizing that some of the children were not waking up from their naps.

They say she called her husband before alerting first responders, who was later seen on surveillance footage entering the building and leaving through a back alley with multiple shopping bags.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams called Mendez's conduct “reprehensible.”

“Grei Mendez has just admitted she conspired to maintain and distribute large quantities of dangerously toxic fentanyl in a Bronx Daycare center, a place where parents expected their children would be protected and safe," he said. “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.”

Mendez's lawyers didn't respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday. They have previously said she had no knowledge of the drug operation, while suggesting that her husband was responsible for the drugs.

Mendez has also been charged in state court with murder, manslaughter and assault. She has pleaded not guilty.