Robert De Niro’s grandson was laid to rest Saturday, as a small group of mourners gathered to pay their final respects at a Manhattan funeral home.
Leandro De Niro Rodriguez, 19, died July 1 when his lifeless body was found inside a lower Manhattan apartment with a white, powdery substance and drug paraphernalia nearby, police sources said.
Leandro was the son of Drena De Niro, whom the famed actor adopted when he married her mother, actress Diahnne Abbott, in 1976.
A somber-looking Robert De Niro, 79, hugged Drena as the casket containing his grandson’s body was carried out of Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home on the Upper East Side.
A small group of black-clad mourners began arriving around 9 a.m. to the funeral home, with the famed actor showing up in a black SUV.
The elder De Niro, wearing a black suit, was escorted inside the funeral home by security. Drena and Leandro’s father, graffiti artist Carlos Rodriguez, followed.
Robert De Niro arrives at the funeral of his grandson Leandro De Niro-Rodriguez. Kevin C. Downs for NY Post
The coffin was taken from the Upper East Side to Valhalla for a graveside service. Kevin C. Downs for NY Post
Robert De Niro arrived after the priest on Saturday morning. Kevin C. Downs for NY Post
Leandro’s mother Drena De Niro leaving her son’s funeral at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home on July 8, 2023. Kevin C. Downs for NY Post
Flowers being place in a vehicle to be taken to a cemetery after Leandro’s funeral on July 8, 2023. Kevin C. Downs for The New YorkDrena and Carlos arrived together in a separate black SUV but waited about 10 minutes outside before they were brought inside. They were joined by approximately 15 other mourners.
After a short service, six pallbearers wearing black suits and white gloves carried the casket out the front door and placed it in the hearse.
Robert De Niro pictured with Drena and Leandro in happier times.
Christopher Walken attended Leandro’s wake at Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home on July 6, 2023. Robert Miller
Michael Imperioli pictured leaving Leandro’s wake on July 6, 2023. Christopher SadowskiDe Niro stood next to Drena, wrapping his arm around her. He then joined the grieving parents in one of the SUVs and drove off. The family was believed to have then had a graveside ceremony for Leandro at a cemetery in Valhalla, NY, where De Niro’s father is buried, according to a source.
At one point, one mourner looked at another and asked, “How are you doing?” before quickly backtracking to add, “Actually, I don’t know why I keep asking everyone that — no one is doing well.”
The teen’s death is being probed as a possible overdose.
While the toxicology report is still pending, Drena De Niro has claimed someone knowingly sold her son tainted drugs.
“Someone sold him fentanyl-laced pills that they knew were laced yet still sold them to him,” Drena, 51, wrote on Instagram Tuesday.
“So for all these people still f–king around selling and buying this s–t, my son is gone forever.”
The city Office of Chief Medical Examiner has yet to disclose an official cause of death, but sources said NYPD detectives in Narcotics Borough Manhattan South have been brought in to probe the case — a sign they could be investigating who, if anyone, provided the drugs.
