Five people have been charged in connection with the 2023 overdose deaths of Robert De Niro's grandson and two other 19-year-olds.
Authorities in New York accuse the suspects, Bruce Epperson, Eddie Barreto, Grant McIver, John Nicholas and Roy Nicholas, of running a fentanyl distribution ring that sold counterfeit prescription opioid pills through social media to teens and young adults in the city.
Authorities have linked the network to the overdose deaths of Leandro De Niro-Rodriguez, Akira Stein – the daughter of Blondie co-founder Chris Stein – and a third unnamed victim.
Each of the five faces charges of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute.
“By their alleged actions, these defendants left a trail of irreversible loss that ended the lives of three teenagers who had limitless potential and who had already had a profound, immeasurable impact on those who knew them,” New York City Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Ricky Patel said Thursday.
Prosecutors allege the five used social media and encrypted messaging apps to sell thousands of fentanyl pills in New York between January and July 2023.
They say the drugs they sold led to the deaths of at least three people that summer.
Stine was found dead May 30 after taking fentanyl pills she allegedly bought from John and Roy Nicholas. The unnamed victim, who died on June 13, allegedly bought the tablets through an intermediary from Mr McIver.
Authorities say De Niro-Rodriguez, who died July 2, received the pills from a dealer who allegedly obtained them from Mr. McIver, Mr. Epperson and Mr. Barreto.
Separately, a woman was arrested in 2023 on charges of selling De Niro-Rodriguez three counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl (the drugs allegedly leading to his death) and Xanax pills.
In a statement following his grandson's death, Oscar winner De Niro said he was “deeply saddened” by the passing of his “beloved grandson,” who was the only child of his daughter Drena.
In a statement on Instagram Thursday, Chris Stein noted the arrests in his daughter's case and thanked officials “for holding out hope for some kind of justice for her.”
If convicted, the charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison, officials said.
