5 charged in overdose death of Robert De Niro’s grandson

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 network that sold fake prescription opioid pills via social media to teenagers and young adults in the city.

Authorities have linked the network to the overdose deaths of Leandro De Niro-Rodriguez, Akira Stein — daughter of Blondie co-founder Chris Stein — and a third unnamed victim.

The five are charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute.

“Through their alleged actions, these defendants left behind a trail of irreversible loss that cut short the lives of three teenagers who possessed limitless potential and who have already had profound, immeasurable impacts on those who knew them,” New York Department of Homeland Security Special Agent Ricky Patel said in a statement Thursday.

Prosecutors say the five used social media and encrypted messaging apps to sell thousands of fentanyl pills in New York between January and July 2023.

They claim that the drugs they sold led to at least three deaths this summer.

Stein was found dead on May 30 after taking pills containing fentanyl that she allegedly bought from John and Roy Nicholas. The unnamed victim, who died on June 13, is said to have bought pills through an intermediary from Mr McIver.

Authorities say De Niro-Rodriguez, who died on July 2, was given pills by a dealer who allegedly obtained them from Mr. McIver, Mr. Epperson and Mr. Barreto.

Separately, in 2023, a woman was arrested for allegedly selling De Niro-Rodriguez three counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl — the drugs believed to have caused his death — and Xanax tablets.

In a statement following his grandson’s death, Oscar winner De Niro said he was “deeply saddened” by the death 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 this hope of some 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.