PICTURED: One kilogram of fentanyl stashed on top of play mats at Bronx daycare where one-year-old died – as owner is slapped with federal charges

A kilogram of fentanyl was stashed on top of play mats at a Bronx daycare center which resulted in the death of a one-year-old boy. 

Nicholas Feliz Dominici, who had only been at Divino Nino Daycare for a week, died from fentanyl exposure on Friday and three other children fell ill and were hospitalized with one in critical condition.

Grei Mendez De Ventura, 36, the owner and her alleged accomplice Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, have now been hit with federal charges. 

The pair were charged on Tuesday in Manhattan federal court with one count of possession with intent to distribute narcotics resulting in death and conspiracy to distribute narcotics resulting in death. 

A brick of fentanyl, weighing one-kilogram, was found on top of children’s playmats as well as a ‘kilo press’, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Prosecutors said De Ventura and her husband’s cousin Brito ‘used the day care center front to cloak their true operation: a fentanyl drug mill.’

The alleged drug duo were reportedly cutting up the drugs near the area where the children nap. 

De Ventura reportedly stood on the sidelines as her cohort cut the opioids. Some fentanyl particles kicked into the air and the children are believed to have inhaled the deadly drug, sources said. 

Authorities found a kilogram block of fentanyl in the same space the children occupied, the federal complaint stated. 

‘There, despite the daily presence of children, including infants, the defendants maintained large quantities of fentanyl, including a kilogram of fentanyl stored on top of children’s playmats,’ an affidavit signed by Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Kyle Harrell said. 

While Brito’s room, which he rented for $200 a week, had equipment which pointed to a large-scale drug operation, according to police. 

A ‘kilo press’, which is typically used to recompress drugs in powder form was discovered and two other presses were found in the day care center. 

They are ‘commonly used by narcotics traffickers at ‘mills’ or other locations where narcotic drugs are broken down, combined with fillers or other narcotics, and portioned for sale,’ according to the affidavit.

On Friday, before police arrived at the Morris Avenue apartment, De Ventura had called several people, including her husband, before calling 911 to get help for the children.

Detectives said they had also recovered video of both the husband and other people fleeing the day care with bags of unknown contents in the initial confusion. 

De Ventura and Brito stored large quantities of fentanyl ‘despite the daily presence of children, including infants,’ the criminal complaint said.

The pair had initially been arrested on state charges on Sunday night, which included murder, manslaughter and assault, and held without bail.   

But they are now in federal custody and face up to life in prison if they are convicted. 

Damian Williams, US Attorney for Southern District of New York, said the case ‘shocked the conscience of the city’ in a press conference on Tuesday. 

A third suspect is still being sought. Police have launched a manhunt for De Ventura’s husband, who is believed to be the ‘ring leader’ in the drug operation, officials said. 

De Ventura’s attorney claimed she was unaware drugs were being stored in her day care by Brito. 

She opened the Bronx day care earlier this year, and on September 6 passed a surprise inspection.

Divino Nino Daycare was registered under the city’s Department of Children and Family Service since it was considered a home-based business. 

The day care was registered to care for up to 8 children, between 6 weeks to 12 years old, records show.

Feliz Dominici’s grief-stricken parents Zoila Dominici and Otoniel Feliz said the day care was recommended by Kingsbridge Heights Community Center.

The heartbroken couple, who are parents to four other children, were trying to come to terms with the unexpected and tragic death of their youngest child.

The boy’s grief-stricken mother told CBS News in Spanish: ‘Look at what happened. If I had known, I wouldn’t have taken him.’

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny said on Monday that police discovered ‘a kilogram of fentanyl in an area that was used to give the children naps.’

He further explained, the fentanyl was ‘laying underneath a mat where children had been sleeping earlier.’ 

According to Kenny, ‘one grain, two grains of fentanyl can take down a grown man so even the residue itself for a small child, would cause the death.’

According to reports, there were no previous complaints made against Divino Nino Daycare.

But, some neighbors had their concerns about what was taking place behind the doors of the apartment. One longtime neighbor said she never saw any children – arriving or leaving- the residence.

‘It was a day care for a year with no children. For one year, she had a day care with no children but people go in. But no babies?,’ she told The New York Post.

She also revealed De Ventura would not allow her own child to stay in the apartment where other children were being cared for.

‘A day care with no children and men coming in and out. Yes, we knew something. We knew something, something was not good happening there.’

‘We all said, ‘Drogas.’ How could you not know?’

She alleged that De Ventura’s day care started getting busier two months ago when she started getting some children, including a baby two months ago, and then two more children a few weeks before the tragedy.