Five individuals have been charged in connection with the 2023 overdose death of Robert De Niro's grandson, Leandro De Niro-Rodriguez, along with two other 19-year-olds.
New York authorities have accused suspects Bruce Epperson, Eddie Barreto, Grant McIver, John Nicolas, and Roy Nicolas of operating a fentanyl distribution network that reportedly engaged in selling counterfeit prescription opioid pills via social media to teenagers and young adults in the city.
This criminal network has been linked by law enforcement officials to the tragic overdose deaths of De Niro-Rodriguez, Akira Stein (daughter of Blondie co-founder Chris Stein), and a third unnamed victim.
Each of the five suspects faces charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute.
Ricky Patel, the special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations New York, stated, Through their alleged actions, these defendants left behind a trail of irreversible loss that cut short the lives of three teenagers who held boundless potential and who had already made profound, immeasurable impacts on those who knew them.
Authorities allege the defendants employed social media and encrypted messaging apps to sell thousands of fentanyl-laced pills in New York between January and July 2023. Prosecutors have stated that the drugs sold by the suspects are believed to have directly resulted in at least three deaths."
Stein's body was found on May 30 after she had consumed fentanyl-laced pills allegedly obtained from John and Roy Nicolas. Another victim, who succumbed on June 13, reportedly bought pills through an intermediary from McIver. The overdose death of De Niro-Rodriguez occurred on July 2, with authorities linking the pills he ingested to a dealer who obtained them from McIver, Epperson, and Barreto.
Separately, a woman was arrested earlier in 2023 for reportedly selling De Niro-Rodriguez three counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl which are believed to have led to his death.
Robert De Niro expressed his deep distress at the loss of his beloved grandson, who was the only child of his daughter Drena. Chris Stein, the father of Akira, acknowledged the arrests in a statement on Instagram, expressing gratitude for the pursuit of justice in his daughter's case.
If found guilty, the implicated individuals face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and may receive a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
