Five people have been charged in connection with the 2023 overdose death of Robert De Niro's grandson and two other 19 year olds.
New York authorities accuse the suspects, Bruce Epperson, Eddie Barreto, Grant McIver, John Nicolas, and Roy Nicolas, of running a fentanyl distribution network that sold counterfeit prescription opioid pills through social media to teenagers and young adults in the city.
Authorities link 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 each charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess 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 held boundless potential and who had already made profound, immeasurable impacts on those who knew them," said Homeland Security Investigations New York special agent in charge Ricky Patel in a statement on Thursday.
