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The female owner of a New York City daycare center where a one-year-old boy died from fentanyl exposure has been hit with federal drug conspiracy charges along with her husband’s cousin.
Grei Mendez De Ventura, 36, the owner of Divino Nino Daycare, and her alleged accomplice Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, were charged Tuesday in Manhattan District Court with possession with intent to distribute narcotics causing death and conspiracy to commit to distribute narcotics, resulting in death.
Prosecutors said the pair “used the daycare front to disguise their true operation: a fentanyl drug manufacturing facility.”
Nicholas Feliz Dominici, a 1-year-old boy who had been at the center for only a week, died from possible fentanyl exposure. Three other children became ill and were hospitalized, with one in critical condition.
The drug duo was reportedly cutting the drugs near the area where the children were napping. De Ventura reportedly stood on the sidelines while her cohort cut off the opioid. Some fentanyl particles flew into the air and the children may have inhaled the deadly drug, sources said.
Divino Nino owner Grei Mendez De Ventura, 36, is seen Sunday after her arrest outside the 52nd Precinct. She was charged Tuesday with possession with intent to distribute narcotics resulting in death and conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death.
De Ventura’s alleged co-conspirator Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, (pictured) kept his head down as he left NYC’s 52nd precinct after also being arrested in connection with the overdose
Pictured: Nicholas Feliz-Dominici, 1, died Friday after ingesting fentanyl at a Bronx daycare
Both Da Ventra and Brito are being held without bail on multiple charges, including manslaughter, depraved indifference to murder and criminal possession of narcotics.
A third suspect is still being sought. An NYPD spokesperson told DailyMail.com on Tuesday that they are still looking for him and the investigation is ongoing.
Authorities said Da Ventura called several people before calling 911 to get help for the children. It was also revealed that she had called her husband, who is described as the ringleader of the drug operation. He’s still on the run.
Detectives said they also found video footage of both the husband and other people fleeing the daycare in the initial confusion with bags of unknown contents. ABC7 News reported.
Da Ventura, 36, opened the Bronx daycare earlier this year and passed a surprise inspection on September 6.
The home-based child care facility was registered with the city’s Department of Children and Family Services.
Nicholas Feliz-Dominici’s bGrief-stricken parents Zoila Dominici and Otoniel Feliz said the daycare was recommended by the Kingsbridge Heights Community Center.
The heartbroken couple, parents of four other children, were trying to come to terms with the unexpected and tragic death of their youngest child.
NYPD Chief Detective Joe Kenny said Monday that police “discovered one kilogram of fentanyl in an area used to give the children naps.”
He further explained that the fentanyl was “under a mat where children had previously slept.” And explained that the area where the children were supposedly taking a nap is in a back room of the apartment.
Nearly a kilo of fentanyl and a kilo of press, a device typically used to combine fentanyl with cocaine or heroin, were discovered, officials said.
Kenny said “One grain, two grains of fentanyl can knock out an adult man, so even the residue for a small child would cause death.”
Law enforcement sources believe the basement beneath the daycare where Brito lived was actually a drug front
Frank A. Tarentino III (pictured) Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Division, which covers New York State, spoke at a news conference Monday about fentanyl and the babies exposed to the deadly chemical
U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Damian Williams spoke at Monday’s news conference
According to reports, no previous complaints have been filed against Divino Nino Daycare. However, a longtime neighbor said she has never seen children enter or leave the center.
‘It was a daycare center without children for a year. For a year she had a daycare without children, but people were coming in. But no babies?,” she said The New York Post.
She also revealed that Da Ventura would not allow her own child to stay in the apartment where other children were being cared for.
‘A daycare center without children and men walking in and out. Yes, we knew something. We knew something, there was something not good going on there.”
“We all said, ‘Drogas.’ How could you not know that?’
She claimed that Da Ventura’s daycare started getting busier two months ago when she started having some children, including a baby two months ago, and then two more children a few weeks before the tragedy.