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.”