Grei Mendez, a 37-year-old New York City daycare owner, has been sentenced to 45 years in prison for operating her Bronx childcare facility as a fentanyl stash house, leading to the death of a 1-year-old boy and the poisoning of three other children.

Mendez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death and serious injury, along with two drug possession charges, following the September 2023 tragedy at Divino Niño daycare. Prosecutors revealed that the children’s play mats were stored beneath a 1-kilogram brick of fentanyl, exposing them to the lethal substance.

Authorities found over 11 kilograms of fentanyl and heroin hidden in secret compartments under the playroom floor tiles. Mendez and her co-conspirators ran the narcotics operation from June 2022 to September 2023.

Her cousin, 41-year-old Carlisto Acevedo Brito, was also arrested and charged with assault, drug possession, endangering the welfare of a child, and manslaughter.

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