Robert De Niro’s Family Tragedy Deepens After Grandson’s Death

A dark new twist has emerged in the heartbreaking overdose death of Robert De Niro’s grandson, Leandro De Niro Rodriguez.

According to prosecutors, the young dealer who sold the fatal fentanyl-laced pills to De Niro’s 19-year-old grandson allegedly sourced them from a larger, deadly drug ring now accused of causing multiple overdose deaths across New York City and Long Island.

Authorities say five suspects — Bruce “Tea” Epperson, Eddie Barreto, Grant “Dizzy” McIver, and brothers John and Roy Nicolas — operated a high-end narcotics network that pushed fentanyl-tainted pills through social media platforms like Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, and Telegram.

One of their alleged buyers was 20-year-old Sophia Haley Marks, infamously known as the “Percocet Princess.” Marks was arrested in 2023 for selling Leandro the fake oxycodone pills that killed him. Messages found on his phone show she warned him about their potency: “Do you really need them? I don’t wanna kill you.”

Leandro — an aspiring actor who appeared in A Star Is Born — had just started a Broadway internship and had been living in his new apartment for only two days when he died from a mix of fentanyl, Xanax, cocaine, ketamine, and other drugs.

Tragically, prosecutors say other victims linked to the same ring include Akira Stein, the daughter of Blondie founder Chris Stein.

Court records show around 20 sealed documents have been filed in Marks’ case, which defense attorney Peter Gleason says could mean she’s cooperating with prosecutors. “It’s not definitive,” he noted, “but that’s usually what it means in cases like this.”

For De Niro’s family, the developments reopen a devastating wound — and shed light on a growing crisis where social media-fueled drug sales are claiming young lives across the country.

Source: RadarOnline, MEGA, NY Court Documents