Hollywood Mourns a Tragic Loss
The death of Robert De Niro’s grandson, Leandro Anthony De Niro-Rodriguez, shook Hollywood and devastated one of its most private families. Investigators have uncovered new details surrounding the 19-year-old’s overdose.
Leandro was found unconscious in his Lower Manhattan apartment on July 2, 2023, just two days after moving in to begin a theater internship on Broadway. Authorities pronounced him dead at the scene.
Arrests Made in Drug Case
Court filings reveal that five men — Bruce Epperson, Eddie Barreto, Grant McIver, John Nicolas, and Roy Nicolas — face conspiracy charges for distributing controlled substances that resulted in deaths. Prosecutors say the group sold thousands of fentanyl-laced Xanax pills to teens and young adults across New York City and parts of Long Island through social media.
Federal authorities confirmed that three 19-year-olds, including Leandro, died from these tainted pills within a three-month span in summer 2023.
The Circumstances of His Death
The NYPD responded to a 911 call to Leandro’s Wall Street apartment. He had just relocated to New York after graduating high school in Aspen, Colorado. The New York City medical examiner ruled the death accidental, citing fentanyl, bromazolam, alprazolam, 7-aminoclonazepam, ketamine, and cocaine.
Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, from a post dated January 1, 2024 | Source: Instagram/drenadeniro/
Heartbreaking Tributes
Leandro’s mother, Drena De Niro, shared a devastating Instagram post:
“My beautiful sweet angel… I wish I was with you right now. I wish I was with you. You were so deeply loved and appreciated, and I wish that love alone could have saved you.”
Robert De Niro also spoke out, expressing disbelief and grief.
“It’s just a shock. I never thought it would happen… I keep thinking about all the things I could have done with him,” he said.
He added a statement requesting privacy while grieving and lamented that Leandro’s death should never have happened. Drena echoed his sentiment, condemning those who sold the lethal pills:
“Someone sold him fentanyl-laced pills that they knew were dangerous… my son is gone forever.”
Another Teen Victim
The same drug network also claimed another life. Akira Stein, daughter of Blondie co-founder Chris Stein, died from an overdose on May 30, 2023, in Lower Manhattan. Chris Stein expressed gratitude for law enforcement’s investigation and hope for justice.
A Promising Life Cut Short
Leandro had begun building a career in entertainment, appearing in projects with his mother, including The Collection (2005), Cabaret Maxime (2018), and A Star Is Born (2018), where they portrayed a mother and son.
The family now hopes the arrests and prosecutions will bring justice for Leandro and the other victims whose lives ended far too soon.
