Ex-NYC official blames Mohegan Sun for son’s caught-on-video fentanyl death, demands NY reject casino bid

The son of an ex-City Hall bigwig lost consciousness after overdosing on fentanyl and fell out his chair while playing blackjack at Mohegan Sun — and staffers there wasted precious minutes getting help that could’ve saved his life, chilling video obtained by the Post shows.

Casino pit bosses and dealers continued the cards at nearby blackjack tables even as Ethan Bherwani — son of Kamal Bherwani — lay motionless on the floor, the video of the May 18, 2021 incident shows.

Jerrard Santiago — who authorities say dealt the fentanyl-laced drugs that eventually killed Ethan — stood behind Ethan when he sat down to play blackjack shortly before 2 a.m.

A man, identified in court proceedings as Santiago, 44, slinked away shortly after Ethan collapsed at 2:01 a.m., the video shows.

Nearly a minute after Ethan fell from his chair, one player at the table moved to a nearby table and continued to play blackjack.

Two others, along with some passersby, tried checking on the 22-year-old — who was at the casino celebrating his graduation from Baruch College — but were ordered to move away by Mohegan employees.

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Four-and-a-half minutes after Ethan collapsed, a casino worker finally checked on him — but from several feet away, according to the video, which was used as a court exhibit in federal authorities’ criminal case against Santiago.

It took until 2:11 a.m. — a full 11 minutes after Ethan hit the floor — for medics from the Mohegan Tribe’s reservation to arrive.

They began using CPR around 2:12 a.m. and spent another 10-plus minutes trying in vain to revive him, the video shows.

He was declared brain dead and died nine days later at Hartford Hospital.

Fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana and alcohol were all in his system — and an addiction medicine specialist testified fentanyl likely killed Ethan, according to court records.

“If they had gotten to him in three minutes, he’d be completely alive,” Kamal Bherwani told The Post.

“My son was going to law school. He was cooped up during the pandemic and celebrating his graduation; he made a mistake … but it should not have cost him his life,” continued Bherwani, who served as NYC’s chief information officer for health and human services under former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and also worked as an exec for ex-Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

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Mohegan is currently one of nearly a dozen bidders vying for three coveted New York City casino licenses up for grabs.

Bherwani is calling on Gov. Hochul to reject Mohegan and partner Soloviev Group’s ​$10 billion “Freedom Plaza”​ casino proposal , which would include a hotel and entertainment complex near the United Nations in Manhattan.

“What [Mohegan] has proven is that they put money ahead of . . . safety,” said Bherwani, who donated $30,000 to Hochul’s 2022 gubernatorial campaign.

“There is a culture there that permeates. You know the values of the Mohegan Sun just through what you see on the video.”

Santiago pleaded guilty in January to federal narcotics distribution charges after being caught selling fentanyl-laced heroin in 2023 to undercover authorities and faces up to 20 years behind bars.

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Kamal Bherwani, however, wants more justice.

He said he believes the Mohegan tribe – which has its own justice system — tried covering up his son’s death by taking advantage of the casino being on a reservation and not subject to U.S. laws.

He filed a negligence lawsuit in May 2022 against Mohegan.

A tribal court tossed that suit on a technicality, but Bherwani is planning to file a new suit.

Michael Balboni, a security advisor for the Soloviev-Mohegan bid, shot down the dad’s claim that Mohegan can’t keep patrons safe.

Since 2023, none of the over 6 million visitors to the Connecticut casino has died of an opioid overdose, he said.

Bherwani said he’s made it his life’s mission to raise awareness about the nation’s fentanyl-overdose epidemic, including starting the nonprofit Preclivity Foundation and trying to convince local governments to mandate naloxone — a nasal spray that reverses opioid overdoses – be available in public buildings.

Although it’s unclear whether Mohegan had naloxone on site when Ethan died, Balboni said it does now.

“Though this is an incredibly tragic incident, it is not representative of how this gaming facility is operated,” he added.

Hochul spokesperson Sam Spokony said the state is “engaged in aggressive, ongoing efforts to address the opioid and overdose epidemic – including distributing nearly 700,000 naloxone kits statewide in the last 18 months.”

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