5 more arrested in overdose death of Robert De Niro’s grandson
Five more people were arrested Thursday in connection with the death of Robert De Niro’s grandson following a fentanyl overdose.
Grant McIver, Bruce Epperson, Eddie Barreto, John Nicolas and Roy Nicolas were indicted in Manhattan Federal Court for running a drug distribution ring that resulted in the deaths of three 19-year-olds within two months in 2023.
Two of the victims were De Niro’s grandson, Leandro Anthony De Niro-Rodriguez, and Akira Stein, the daughter of guitarist and Blondie co-founder Chris Stein, the DEA said in a news release.
Leandro De Niro, the son of De Niro’s daughter Drena, was found dead in his Manhattan apartment on July 2, 2023. He died of an overdose of “fentanyl, bromazolam, alprazolam, 7-aminoclonazepam, ketamine and cocaine,” the city’s medical examiner ruled.
“Someone sold him pills with fentanyl that they knew were laced with them, but he sold them to him anyway,” Drena De Niro wrote on social media shortly after her son’s death.
About a month later, the first suspect in the case was arrested and charged with doing just that. Sophia Marks, then 20, was charged with three counts of drug distribution in connection with the death of Leandro De Niro.
“Marks knew the pills could kill, and she continued to sell them anyway,” Damian Williams, then the Manhattan district attorney, said in a statement.
McIver, Epperson, Barreto and the two Nicolases are accused of distributing thousands of fake pills containing fentanyl, alprazolam and other drugs, federal authorities said in charging documents.
The five suspects are accused of operating three overlapping distribution networks in New York and Long Island, the DEA said. John Nicolas, 29, and Roy Nicolas, 23, sold the pills that killed Stein; while McIver, 24, Epperson, 24, and Barreto, 22, sold the pills that killed Leandro De Niro, according to the feds.
The dealers used social media to “specifically target teenagers and young adults,” investigators said.
Leandro De Niro had just moved to New York from Aspen, Colorado, after graduating from high school. He got an internship on Broadway and was in his Financial District apartment just two days before his death.
Akira Stein’s death, which occurred on May 30, 2023, was not revealed until two months later, when her father posted about it on Facebook.
“She was wonderful and a bright place in the world. She had been struggling for a few years and addiction took her,” Chris Stein wrote. “Remember her and be kind to each other and you young people avoid this trap.”
Federal prosecutors said the charges relate to deaths that occurred on May 30, June 13 and July 2. The second victim has only been identified as a 19-year-old man.
Citywide, officials recorded 3,056 overdose deaths in 2023, a number that fell to 2,192 deaths in 2024.
With Molly Crane-Newman
