The fentanyl crisis claimed the life of a 1-year-old baby boy last week. As more information comes to light amidst the investigation, a neighbor contributed their suspicions about what kind of “business” was being run before they accepted children for care.
Divino Niño Daycare owner Grei Mendez De Ventura and cousin-in-law Carlisto Acevedo Brito were both slammed with conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death and possession with intent to distribute narcotics resulting in death charges, per NBC News. The charges stem from the death of baby Nicholas Dominici and poisoning of four other children after the two suspects allegedly stored fentanyl in the hallway closet of the facility and underneath a nursery mat the babies were sleeping on. The Drug Enforcement Administration said the substance created what was described as a “fentanyl cloud.” Two kilo presses were also discovered inside the daycare.
The scandal comes as no surprise to a resident in the neighborhood who told The New York Post she believed there were narcotic operations occurring since the “daycare” opened.
Read more from the NY Post:
Divino Nino Daycare owner Grei Mendez De Ventura, 36, put a business sign outside the basement space in the Kingsbridge building touting the day care site more than a year ago — yet there were never any kids going in and out, claimed a woman who lives next door.
“We all said, ‘Drogas.’ How could you not know?” said the longtime resident, 69, who declined to give her name. “It was a day care for a year with no children. For one year, she had a day care with no children but people go in. But no babies?”
“A daycare with no children and men coming in and out. Yes, we knew something. We knew something, something was not good happening there,” the woman said.
The neighbor claimed Ventura wouldn’t even allow her own child to go into the tiny facility, which became licensed to legally operate as a daycare in May…
Ventura and Brito also face murder, assault and child endangerment charges in state court following the death of baby Nicholas. The boy’s family said he had only been going to the daycare for a week before he died.
“We had a good recommendation. We were told it was a great place. It looked like a nice place,” said Nichols’ father, Otoniel Feliz. However, he noted that parents didn’t have permission to go inside the facility beyond the child’s first day. “They said they don’t want contamination from the outside to go inside because they keep everything clean. That’s what they said,” he said via Daily Mail.
Nicolas’ father said now, his other four children are afraid of going to school in fear of losing their life like their little brother, per The Post.
Law enforcement is currently looking for Ventura’s husband who they believe played a main role in the drug dealing business, the report says.