Watertown man admits to federal heroin possession, firearm charges
Jun. 30—WATERTOWN — A city man faces up to 20 years in federal prison after admitting Monday that he possessed heroin and an illegal shotgun in a self-storage unit in the town of Watertown.
Daniel J. Borg, 43, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court, Syracuse, to possession of controlled substances (heroin/fentanyl and eutylone) with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possession of a sawed-off shotgun and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Prosecutors said that as part of his guilty plea, Mr. Borg admitted that on Jan. 21, 2021, he was in possession of 305 grams of eutylone, also known as bath salts, as well as 30 separate bags of a heroin/fentanyl mixture in an Audi automobile that he parked at a self-storage area on outer Coffeen Street, where he leased a unit.
Detectives from the Metro-Jeff Drug Task Force surveilled Mr. Borg as he was about to enter his locked storage unit. After taking Mr. Borg into custody and recovering the drugs from the Audi, task force detectives obtained his consent to search his locked storage unit, according to prosecutors.
Inside the storage unit, detectives located a safe containing 500 separate small plastic bags, each holding a small quantity of a heroin/fentanyl mixture. Also recovered from the storage unit was a sawed-off .410-gauge shotgun illegally possessed by Mr. Borg, who has five prior felony convictions.
Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 19, at which time Mr. Borg faces a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. He also faces a minimum five-year term of supervised release and up to life for his conviction for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
