Statement Of U.S. Attorney Damian Williams On The Guilty Plea Of Fourth Defendant In Connection With Poisoning Of Four Children At A Bronx Daycare

“Grei Mendez has just admitted she conspired to maintain and distribute large quantities of dangerously toxic fentanyl in a Bronx Daycare center, a place where parents expected their children would be protected and safe.  Mendez’s reprehensible conduct resulted in the needless and tragic death of a child, and the poisoning of three others.  From the beginning, this case has shown the senseless collateral damage caused by the fentanyl epidemic and should remind us of all that the demand for illegal narcotics so often puts innocent bystanders at risk while drug traffickers ruthlessly pursue profits.  This Office will continue to protect New Yorkers from the grave threat fentanyl presents.”